ABOUT THE PROJECT
This project aims to develop new tools to identify which patients are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 at this time that the majority of the population of developed countries is vaccinated. As specific aims we will assess the usefulness of neutralizing autoantibodies against IFN-α, IFN-ω and/or IFN-β to identify hospitalized patients at high risk of developing severe COVID-19, and determine if patients vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 with these autoantibodies continue to have a greater susceptibility to severe forms of COVID-19.
This is a descriptive, retrospective and unicenter study (Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge – Barcelona – Spain). Patients included have to be (i) ≥ 18 years old; (ii) SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by PCR or antigen test; and (iii) hospitalized for COVID-19 from March 2021 to March 2022 (fourth to sixth pandemic wave in Spain). Since March 2020, the HUB-IDIBELL Biobank has kept blood samples of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in HUB. Currently, we have samples from more than 3,500 patients and samples continue to be collected from new patients affected by COVID-19 treated at the HUB. 1500 of these samples correspond to the study period (March 2021 to March 2022). Demographic, clinical, laboratory and evolutive variables will be collected. Blood samples obtained during COVID-19 hospitalization will be analyzed for the presence of these autoantibodies by ELISA and their blocking capacity by luciferase assay following St. Giles protocols. Our study will determine the incidence of type I IFN autoantibodies in our patients, as well as its usefulness as markers for COVID-19 severity. Furthermore we will determine if patients vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 with these autoantibodies continue to have a greater susceptibility to severe forms of COVID-19.
Funding
Fundación Privada IDIBELL
Contact
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