To investigate whether specific immune response plasma proteins can predict an elevated risk of developing Long COVID symptoms or fatigue severity after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study was based on 257 outpatients with test-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between February 2020 and January 2021. At least 12 weeks after the acute infection, 92 plasma proteins were measured using the Olink Target 96 immune response panel (median time between acute infection and venous blood sampling was 38.8 [IQR: 24.0–48.0] weeks). The presence of Long COVID symptoms and fatigue severity was assessed 115.8 [92.5–118.6] weeks after the acute infection by a follow-up postal survey. Long COVID (yes/no) was defined as having one or more of the following symptoms: fatigue, shortness of breath, concentration or memory problems. The severity of fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). In multivariable-adjusted logistic and linear regression models the associations between each plasma protein (exposure) and Long COVID (yes/no) or severity of fatigue were investigated. Nine plasma proteins were significantly associated with Long COVID before, but not after adjusting for multiple testing (FDR-adjustment): DFFA, TRIM5, TRIM21, HEXIM1, SRPK2, PRDX5, PIK3AP1, IFNLR1 and HCLS1. Moreover, a total of 10 proteins were significantly associated with severity of fatigue before FDR-adjustment: SRPK2, ITGA6, CLEC4G, HEXIM1, PPP1R9B, PLXNA4, PRDX5, DAPP1, STC1 and HCLS1. Only SRPK2 and ITGA6 remained significantly associated after FDR-adjustment. This study demonstrates that certain immune response plasma proteins might play an important role in the pathophysiology of Long COVID and severity of fatigue after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

中文翻译：

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炎症血浆蛋白能否预测 SARS-CoV-2 感染后的长期新冠肺炎或疲劳严重程度？

旨在研究特异性免疫反应血浆蛋白是否可以预测 SARS-CoV-2 感染后出现长 COVID 症状或疲劳严重程度的风险升高。这项研究基于 2020 年 2 月至 2021 年 1 月期间经检测确诊 SARS-CoV-2 感染的 257 名门诊患者。在急性感染后至少 12 周，使用 Olink Target 96 免疫反应面板测量了 92 种血浆蛋白（急性感染和静脉血采样为 38.8 [IQR：24.0–48.0] 周）。急性感染后 115.8 [92.5–118.6] 周通过后续邮政调查评估了长期新冠肺炎症状和疲劳严重程度的存在。长期新冠肺炎（是/否）被定义为具有以下一种或多种症状：疲劳、呼吸急促、注意力不集中或记忆力问题。使用疲劳评估量表（FAS）评估疲劳的严重程度。在多变量调整逻辑和线性回归模型中，研究了每种血浆蛋白（暴露）与长期新冠肺炎（是/否）或疲劳严重程度之间的关联。九种血浆蛋白之前与 Long COVID 显着相关，但在调整多重测试（FDR 调整）后则不再显着相关：DFFA、TRIM5、TRIM21、HEXIM1、SRPK2、PRDX5、PIK3AP1、IFNLR1 和 HCLS1。此外，总共 10 种蛋白质在 FDR 调整前与疲劳严重程度显着相关：SRPK2、ITGA6、CLEC4G、HEXIM1、PPP1R9B、PLXNA4、PRDX5、DAPP1、STC1 和 HCLS1。 FDR 调整后，只有 SRPK2 和 ITGA6 仍保持显着相关。这项研究表明，某些免疫反应血浆蛋白可能在长新冠肺炎的病理生理学和 SARS-CoV-2 感染后疲劳的严重程度中发挥重要作用。