Studies pinpoint immune cells and proteins linked to long COVID

Medical Xpress / U of Alberta / Jrnl of Autoimmunity / Frontiers in Immunology / The Lancet Microbe ^ | Oct. 28, 2024 | Don Bell / Suguru Saito et al / Shokrollah Elahi et al / Amirhossein Rahmati et al

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers have pinpointed two proteins that could serve as markers for identifying patients with long COVID.

Elahi and his team discovered that the long COVID group had higher levels of immune cells called neutrophils and monocytes that cause inflammation, and fewer protective lymphocytes.

In the blood of the long COVID patients, the team also found higher levels of various proteins related to systemic inflammation—especially galectin-9 and artemin.

Higher levels of galectin-9 in patients are associated with increased inflammation and brain fog. In the case of artemin, higher levels are associated with widespread pain, more severe pain and cognitive impairment.

They also found that long COVID dysregulates the production of red blood cells, which results in an abundance of immature red blood cells in the blood of these patients.

"I think that chronic inflammation in long COVID patients results in the elevation of these two proteins. At the earliest stage of disease, we know that some patients have gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea," he points out. "I think those individuals are more likely to develop long COVID."

The gastrointestinal problems result in damage to the intestinal tissues, along with gut leakiness. It means that if even small traces of microbes from the gut get into the bloodstream, it could result in chronic inflammation. The team found elevated levels of protein markers associated with gut leakiness in these patients.

That is actually good news, because these gut problems can be treated. "There are medications available that can be used for gut leakiness."

Elahi adds that his team discovered that some long COVID patients had a deficiency in two amino acids, sarcosine and serine, that have anti-inflammatory functions and neuroprotective effects. Both are available as food supplements that can be purchased.

"Some patients who have taken them have claimed signs of improvement."

[Bob434]

an interestign articel that goes along with your article for the 2 amino acids, but also discusses why ‘long covid’ causes such exhaustion-

“The first change the researchers noted was abnormally low levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the cellular source of energy, likely due to mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the disease.

“Mitochondria are like the powerhouses of the cell, generating ATP, which is like a rechargeable battery that provides power to cells,” Elahi explains. “When those two are not working properly, it may explain why these patients are always tired—they simply don’t have enough energy to function and carry out their routine activities.””

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-telltale-amino-acid-deficiencies-key.html#google_vignette

[Prince of Space]

Please unsubscribe me from your list.

[AppyPappy]

Everyone I know that has/had Long Covid also had other self-diagnosed diseases.

[Bob434]

I did find the following on l-serine which folks with ibd, colitis and crohn’s might want to avoid

“The gut microbiota is believed to play a critical role in inflammation in Crohn’s disease (CD). Adherent–invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) often colonize the intestinal mucosa of CD patients. AIEC colonization may promote intestinal inflammation in CD patients. We have found that AIEC prefers to use the amino acid L-serine for growth in the inflamed gut. As dietary proteins are a major source of L-serine in the gut lumen, withholding L-serine from the diet prevents the growth of AIEC in the gut of mice. These facts suggest that a diet deprived of L-serine may alleviate CD symptoms”

https://krfoundation.org/grant/dietary-amino-acid-utilization-by-the-gut-microbiota-in-crohns-disease/