Molecular Pathways Driving Autoantibody Production Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified
Researchers identified the immune cell population responsible for producing autoantibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and uncovered the molecular program that drives this response, providing insights that might point to new therapeutic targets. The post Molecular Pathways Driving Autoantibody Production Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and…
Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) have identified the specific type of immune cells responsible for producing autoantibodies in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Autoantibodies are antibodies that mistakenly target the body's own tissues, leading to severe COVID-19, Long COVID, and an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases.
The team, led by Jim Heath, PhD, used multiple cutting-edge technologies, including single-cell RNA sequencing, chromatin accessibility profiling, plasma proteomics, and proteome-wide autoantibody profiling, to analyze immune responses from participants in ISB's INCOV study of COVID-19. Their findings, published in Immunity, reveal that atypical memory B cells (AtMs) are the primary precursors of autoantibody-producing cells during SARS-CoV-2 infection.
These AtMs, which are a normal part of the immune system, adopt a distinct biological program in individuals with high autoantibody levels, making them more prone to maturing into antibody-secreting cells that produce autoantibodies. The researchers also found that patients with higher autoantibody levels tend to have weaker virus-neutralizing antibody responses, suggesting that understanding this molecular pathway could lead to new therapies for managing autoimmunity in COVID-19 patients.
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