Autoantibodies Neutralizing Type I Interferons in 20% of COVID-19 Deaths in a French Hospital.

Abstract

Recent studies reported the presence of pre-existing autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) in at least 15% of patients with critical COVID-19 pneumonia. In one study, these auto-Abs were found in almost 20% of deceased patients across all ages. We aimed to assess the prevalence and clinical impact of the auto-Abs to type I IFNs in the Seine-Saint-Denis district, which was one of the most affected areas by COVID-19 in France during the first wave. We tested for the presence of auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs in a cohort of patients admitted for critical COVID-19 pneumonia during the first wave in the spring of 2020 in the medicine departments at Robert Ballanger Hospital, Aulnay sous Bois. We found circulating auto-Abs that neutralized 100 pg/mL IFN-α2 and/or IFN-ω in the plasma (diluted 1/10) of 7.9% (11 of 139) of the patients hospitalized for critical COVID-19. The presence of neutralizing auto-Abs was associated with an increased risk of mortality, as these auto-Abs were detected in 21% of patients who died from COVID-19 pneumonia. Deceased patients with and without auto-Abs did not present overt clinical differences. These results confirm both the importance of type I IFN immunity in host defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the usefulness of detection of auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs in the management of patients.

• Authors: Angélique Chauvineau-Grenier, Paul Bastard, Antoine Servajean, Adrian Gervais, Jérémie Rosain, Emmanuelle Jouanguy, Aurélie Cobat, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Benjamin Rossi
• Journal: Journal of clinical immunology (J Clin Immunol) Vol. 42 Issue 3 Pg. 459-470 (04 2022) ISSN: 1573-2592 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 35083626 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Chemical References

• Autoantibodies
• Interferon Type I

Topics

• Autoantibodies
• COVID-19 (epidemiology)
• Hospitals
• Humans
• Interferon Type I
• SARS-CoV-2