AUTHOR=Queiroz Maria Alice Freitas , Neves Pablo Fabiano Moura das , Lima Sandra Souza , Lopes Jeferson da Costa , Torres Maria Karoliny da Silva , Vallinoto Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres , Bichara Carlos David Araújo , Santos Erika Ferreira dos , de Brito Mioni Thieli Figueiredo Magalhães , da Silva Andréa Luciana Soares , Leite Mauro de Meira , da Costa Flávia Póvoa , Viana Maria de Nazaré do Socorro de Almeida , Rodrigues Fabíola Brasil Barbosa , de Sarges Kevin Matheus Lima , Cantanhede Marcos Henrique Damasceno , da Silva Rosilene , Bichara Clea Nazaré Carneiro , Berg Ana Virgínia Soares van den , Veríssimo Adriana de Oliveira Lameira , Carvalho Mayara da Silva , Henriques Daniele Freitas , Santos Carla Pinheiro dos , Nunes Juliana Abreu Lima , Costa Iran Barros , Viana Giselle Maria Rachid , Carneiro Francisca Regina Oliveira , Palacios Vera Regina da Cunha Menezes , Quaresma Juarez Antonio Simões , Brasil-Costa Igor , Santos Eduardo José Melo dos , Falcão Luiz Fábio Magno , Vallinoto Antonio Carlos Rosário TITLE=Cytokine Profiles Associated With Acute COVID-19 and Long COVID-19 Syndrome JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.922422 DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.922422 ISSN=2235-2988 ABSTRACT=

The duration and severity of COVID-19 are related to age, comorbidities, and cytokine synthesis. This study evaluated the impact of these factors on patients with clinical presentations of COVID-19 in a Brazilian cohort. A total of 317 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were included; cases were distributed according to clinical status as severe (n=91), moderate (n=56) and mild (n=170). Of these patients, 92 had acute COVID-19 at sample collection, 90 had already recovered from COVID-19 without sequelae, and 135 had sequelae (long COVID syndrome). In the acute COVID-19 group, patients with the severe form had higher IL-6 levels (p=0.0260). In the post-COVID-19 group, there was no significant difference in cytokine levels between groups with different clinical conditions. In the acute COVID-19 group, younger patients had higher levels of TNF-α, and patients without comorbidities had higher levels of TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-2 (p<0.05). In contrast, patients over age 60 with comorbidities had higher levels of IL-6. In the post-COVID-19 group, subjects with long COVID-19 had higher levels of IL-17 and IL-2 (p<0.05), and subjects without sequelae had higher levels of IL-10, IL-6 and IL- 4 (p<0.05). Our results suggest that advanced age, comorbidities and elevated serum IL-6 levels are associated with severe COVID-19 and are good markers to differentiate severe from mild cases. Furthermore, high serum levels of IL-17 and IL-2 and low levels of IL-4 and IL-10 appear to constitute a cytokine profile of long COVID-19, and these markers are potential targets for COVID-19 treatment and prevention strategies.