Scientific article
OA Policy
English

SARS-CoV-2 infection as a trigger of humoral response against apolipoprotein A-1

Published inEuropean Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 51, no. 11, e13661
Publication date2021
Abstract

Background: Unravelling autoimmune targets triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection may provide crucial insights into the physiopathology of the disease and foster the development of potential therapeutic candidate targets and prognostic tools. We aimed at determining (a) the association between anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anti-apoA-1 humoral response and (b) the degree of linear homology between SARS-CoV-2, apoA-1 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) epitopes.

Design: Bioinformatics modelling coupled with mimic peptides engineering and competition experiments were used to assess epitopes sequence homologies. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anti-apoA-1 IgG as well as cytokines were assessed by immunoassays on a case-control (n = 101), an intensive care unit (ICU; n = 126) and a general population cohort (n = 663) with available samples in the pre and post-pandemic period.

Results: Using bioinformatics modelling, linear sequence homologies between apoA-1, TLR2 and Spike epitopes were identified but without experimental evidence of cross-reactivity. Overall, anti-apoA-1 IgG levels were higher in COVID-19 patients or anti-SARS-CoV-2 seropositive individuals than in healthy donors or anti-SARS-CoV-2 seronegative individuals (P < .0001). Significant and similar associations were noted between anti-apoA-1, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, cytokines and lipid profile. In ICU patients, anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anti-apoA-1 seroconversion rates displayed similar 7-day kinetics, reaching 82% for anti-apoA-1 seropositivity. In the general population, SARS-CoV-2-exposed individuals displayed higher anti-apoA-1 IgG seropositivity rates than nonexposed ones (34% vs 16.8%; P = .004).

Conclusion: COVID-19 induces a marked humoral response against the major protein of high-density lipoproteins. As a correlate of poorer prognosis in other clinical settings, such autoimmunity signatures may relate to long-term COVID-19 prognosis assessment and warrant further scrutiny in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords
  • COVID-19
  • Anti-apolipoprotein A-1 autoantibodies
  • Molecular mimicry
  • Spike protein
  • Toll-like receptor 2
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Viral / immunology
  • Apolipoprotein A-I / chemistry
  • Apolipoprotein A-I / immunology
  • Autoantibodies / immunology
  • COVID-19 / immunology
  • Computational Biology
  • Cytokines / immunology
  • Epitopes / chemistry
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Humoral / immunology
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Peptide Fragments / chemistry
  • Peptide Fragments / immunology
  • Peptides
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / chemistry
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / immunology
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2 / chemistry
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2 / immunology
  • Young Adult
Notepreprint in medRxiv: 10.1101/2021.02.12.21251298
Citation (ISO format)
PAGANO, Sabrina et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection as a trigger of humoral response against apolipoprotein A-1. In: European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2021, vol. 51, n° 11, p. e13661. doi: 10.1111/eci.13661
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Article (Published version)
Secondary files (2)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0014-2972
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222downloads

Technical informations

Creation27/08/2021 09:41:00
First validation27/08/2021 09:41:00
Update time04/04/2025 12:58:20
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