{
  "id": 4001745,
  "title": "Molecular Pathways Driving Autoantibody Production Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/molecular-pathways-driving-autoantibody-production-following-sars-cov",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-28T17:44:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GEN Biotechnology",
    "slug": "gen-biotechnology",
    "url": "https://www.genengnews.com/topics/infectious-diseases/molecular-pathways-driving-autoantibody-production-following-sars-cov-2-infection-identified/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}