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. 2023 Feb 8;76(3):e487-e490.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac722.

Persistent Circulating Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Is Associated With Post-acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 Sequelae

Zoe Swank  1   2   3 , Yasmeen Senussi  1   2   3 , Zachary Manickas-Hill  4 , Xu G Yu  1   4   5 , Jonathan Z Li  1   5 , Galit Alter  4   6 , David R Walt  1   2   3
Affiliations

Persistent Circulating Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Spike Is Associated With Post-acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 Sequelae

Zoe Swank et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The diagnosis of postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (PASC) poses an ongoing medical challenge. To identify biomarkers associated with PASC we analyzed plasma samples collected from PASC and coronavirus disease 2019 patients to quantify viral antigens and inflammatory markers. We detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike predominantly in PASC patients up to 12 months after diagnosis.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 antigens; long COVID; post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC); spike.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. D. W. has a financial interest in Quanterix Corporation, a company that develops an ultra-sensitive digital immunoassay platform. He is an inventor of the single molecule array technology, a founder of the company and also serves on its Board of Directors. D. W.'s interests were reviewed and are managed by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Partners Healthcare in accordance with their conflict of interest policies. He also holds stock and stock options for Quanterix Corporation. G. A. reports grants or contracts from Biontech, Merck, and BMS; consulting fees from Sanofi and Moderna, payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from GSK and Astrazeneca; patents from REFORM—Antibody Engineering—MGH; CAPRISA CAP276 HIV monoclonal DSMB; is a part of the Sanofi Scientific Advisory Board; and holds stock or stock options for Systems Seromyx and Leyden Labs. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
SARS-CoV-2 antigen levels versus time. The concentration of S1 (A), spike (B), and N (C) measured in the plasma of individuals over time after diagnosis with PASC or COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multiple data points may correspond to the same individual, where repeat sampling was available. Data points represent mean values ± SD (n = 2). Dashed lines indicate the LOD for each assay. Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease; LOD, limit of detection; PASC, postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Temporal profiling of SARS-CoV-2 antigens for individual PASC patients. S1, spike, and N levels versus time for 12 patients diagnosed with PASC. Data points represent mean values ± SD (n = 2). Vertical lines correspond to the times when each patient received either the first, second, or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. If an individual was not vaccinated within 1 month of the time frame shown, no vaccination information is shown. Dashed horizontal lines indicate the LOD for each assay. Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease; LOD, limit of detection; PASC, postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
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References

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