Long-COVID
Conditions
Interventions
Blood sampling, hair sample, and questionnaires.
Sponsors
Erasmus MC, Universitair Medisch Centrum Rotterdam
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Long-COVID patients • Age >= 18 years, = 18 years, 95% compared to functioning prior COVID-19 infection • Self-reported general good wellbeing • Provided written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Long-COVID patients • Unable or not willing to provide written informed consent • Unable to complete written questionnaires in Dutch • Unable to draw blood for study purposes • Diagnosis of dementia • Active treatment with hyperbaric oxygen treatment during study start • Alternative diagnosis that may explain clinical symptoms • No re-infection with COVID-19 in the past 3 months • Suffering from any pre-existing immune-driven disease or use of anti-inflammatory therapy of any kind (including NSAIDs and steroids) during the last 3 months • CC • Unable or not willing to provide written informed consent • Unable to complete written questionnaires in Dutch • Unable to draw blood for study purposes • Diagnosis of dementia • Genetically related to participating patients (e.g. brother/sister/parent) • Suffering from any immune-driven disease or use of anti-inflammatory therapy of any kind (including NSAIDs and steroids), including during the last 3 months • Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the past 3 months before the start of the study • Unable or not willing to provide written informed consent • Unable to complete written questionnaires in Dutch
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The main study parameter is difference in percentage of age-associated B cells (ABCs) in the circulation of long-COVID patients compared with CCs. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Immunological profile The quantification of ABCs as primary parameter will be part of the immunological profiling of long-COVID patients. This will be accompanied by the characterization and quantification of several other parameters of circulating lymphoid (B and T cell) and myeloid (monocytes and dendritic cells) populations. Frequencies as well as the activation status of different subsets will be determined in PBMCs from both patients and controls. In addition, the expression of several activation markers (including CD86, MHC-II, CD69, etc.) and exhaustion markers (PD1, CTLA-4, etc.) will be determined. Functional experiments will be conducted on B and T cells to measure B and T cell receptor (BCR and TCR, respectively) signaling responsiveness. In addition, the cytokine production potential will be evaluated in lymphoid and myeloid subsets to assess functionality. Differences in the potential of cytokine production in specific cell subsets between groups will be translated to a systemic level, by quantifying circulating cytokine concentrations in plasma/serum. Quantification and phenotypic assessment of SARSCoV-2-specific B and T cells will be performed using in-house techniques developed at the Department of Viroscience [26]. Cell populations of interest will be further investigated on a transcriptional and epigenetic level, using RNA- and ATAC-seq, respectively. Finally, immunological characteristics will be combined and correlated with clinical parameters to form computationally-calculated immunological profiles. Virological profile A virological profile will be created based on several circulating virological factors. For SARSCoV-2, these include the quantification of circulating RNA and spike protein in serum/plasma. For reactivation of latent viruses, these include the quantification of viral load of EBV, CMV, and HHV6 in serum/plasma. Concentrations and neutralization capacity of antibodies (IgM and IgG) against bo | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Contacts
Public ContactR.C.N.M. Leesberg
Erasmus MC, Universitair Medisch Centrum Rotterdam
Outcome results
None listed