Long COVID is associated with female sex; Anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies are absent in patients with long COVID

IF 2.9 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES

IBRO Neuroscience Reports Pub Date : 2025-07-09 DOI:10.1016/j.ibneur.2025.07.002

Yukiko Motokawa , Jun Sugihara , Tomoya Tateishi , Tadashi Hosoya , Shinsuke Yasuda , Yasunari Miyazaki , Hidehiko Takahashi , Hiroki Shiwaku

{"title":"Long COVID is associated with female sex; Anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies are absent in patients with long COVID","authors":"Yukiko Motokawa , Jun Sugihara , Tomoya Tateishi , Tadashi Hosoya , Shinsuke Yasuda , Yasunari Miyazaki , Hidehiko Takahashi , Hiroki Shiwaku","doi":"10.1016/j.ibneur.2025.07.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Long COVID is a condition that may arise following SARS-CoV-2 infection and is associated with a range of systemic complications. Autoantibodies are implicated in the pathogenesis of long COVID. However, the details of the pathogenic mechanisms undergone by these autoantibodies remain unclear. Neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) is the human protein with the highest sequence homology to the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Previous in silico studies indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce the production of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies. Thus, this study investigated the presence of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies in individuals affected by COVID-19, including those with long COVID.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Serum samples were obtained from 173 individuals 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among them, 63 were diagnosed with long COVID. A cell-based assay was used to assess all 173 serum samples for the presence of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies. We also analyzed the clinical profiles of patients with and without long COVID to identify potential risk factors associated with long COVID.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies were not detected in any serum sample. The proportion of female patients in the long COVID group was significantly higher than that in the non-long COVID group.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The results indicate that the production of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies following COVID-19 is unlikely. Female sex is associated with higher risk of long COVID.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13195,"journal":{"name":"IBRO Neuroscience Reports","volume":"19 ","pages":"Pages 252-256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"IBRO Neuroscience Reports","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242125001022","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Long COVID is a condition that may arise following SARS-CoV-2 infection and is associated with a range of systemic complications. Autoantibodies are implicated in the pathogenesis of long COVID. However, the details of the pathogenic mechanisms undergone by these autoantibodies remain unclear. Neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) is the human protein with the highest sequence homology to the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Previous in silico studies indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce the production of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies. Thus, this study investigated the presence of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies in individuals affected by COVID-19, including those with long COVID.

Methods

Serum samples were obtained from 173 individuals 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among them, 63 were diagnosed with long COVID. A cell-based assay was used to assess all 173 serum samples for the presence of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies. We also analyzed the clinical profiles of patients with and without long COVID to identify potential risk factors associated with long COVID.

Results

Anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies were not detected in any serum sample. The proportion of female patients in the long COVID group was significantly higher than that in the non-long COVID group.

Conclusion

The results indicate that the production of anti-NCAM1 autoantibodies following COVID-19 is unlikely. Female sex is associated with higher risk of long COVID.

查看原文本刊更多论文

长COVID与女性有关；长COVID患者无抗ncam1自身抗体

长冠状病毒病是SARS-CoV-2感染后可能出现的一种疾病，与一系列全身并发症有关。自身抗体参与了长冠状病毒的发病机制。然而，这些自身抗体的致病机制细节尚不清楚。神经细胞粘附分子1 （NCAM1）是与SARS-CoV-2蛋白序列同源性最高的人蛋白。先前的计算机研究表明，SARS-CoV-2感染可能诱导抗ncam1自身抗体的产生。因此，本研究调查了COVID-19患者（包括长COVID患者）中抗ncam1自身抗体的存在。方法采集173例SARS-CoV-2感染后3个月的血清样本。其中63人被诊断为长冠状病毒。以细胞为基础的测定方法用于评估所有173份血清样本中抗ncam1自身抗体的存在。我们还分析了长冠和非长冠患者的临床资料，以确定与长冠相关的潜在危险因素。结果血清中未检出抗ncam1自身抗体。长COVID组女性患者比例明显高于非长COVID组。结论新型冠状病毒感染后不可能产生抗ncam1自身抗体。女性性行为与长期感染COVID的风险较高有关。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊