Potential biomarker and treatment for imune dysfunction
A potential biomarker has been identified by US researchers that indicates immune system dysfunction among people living with long COVID and ME/CFS. This involves dysfunctional CD8 T-cells.
Immune deficiency and health was seen to improve following treatment with an inhaled antioxidant/anti-pathogen treatment – Inspiritol.
This was a small study:
“With further research we hope to be able to identify treatment-responsive subsets of patients, predict outcome and severity and be better able to understand the pathogenesis of ME/CFS and Long COVID and the mechanism of action of this nebulized antioxidant, anti-pathogen, and potentially immunomodulatory agent in treatment of these disabling disorders.”
Identification of CD8 T-cell dysfunction associated with symptoms in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID and treatment with a nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen agent in a retrospective case series, by Anna Gil, George E Hoag, John P Salerno, Mady Hornig, Nancy Klimas, Liisa K Selin in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health Vol 36, March 2024, 100720
[doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100720]
Highlights
- Both Long COVID and ME/CFS patients have dysfunctional CD8 T-cells with severe deficiencies in production of IFNg and TNFa.
- Immune deficiency and health improve on treatment with nebulized antioxidant, anti-pathogen and immune-modulatory agent.
- Useful new biomarker, CD8 T-cell dysfunction, assists in diagnosis and tracking response to potential new treatments.
Abstract
Background
Patients with post-acute sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (PASC, i.e., Long COVID) have a symptom complex highly analogous to many features of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), suggesting they may share some aspects of pathogenesis in these similar disorders. ME/CFS is a complex disease affecting numerous organ systems and biological processes and is often preceded by an infection-like episode.
It is postulated that the chronic manifestations of illness may result from an altered host response to infection or inability to resolve inflammation, as is being reported in Long COVID. The immunopathogenesis of both disorders is still poorly understood. Here, we show data that suggest Long COVID and ME/CFS may be due to an aberrant response to an immunological trigger-like infection, resulting in a dysregulated immune system with CD8 T-cell dysfunction reminiscent of some aspects of T-cell clonal exhaustion, a phenomenon associated with oxidative stress.
As there is an urgent need for diagnostic tools and treatment strategies for these two related disabling disorders, here, in a retrospective case series, we have also identified a potential nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen treatment that has evidence of a good safety profile. This nebulized agent is comprised of five ingredients previously reported individually to relieve oxidative stress, attenuate NF-κB signaling, and/or to act directly to inhibit pathogens, including viruses. Administration of this treatment by nebulizer results in rapid access of small doses of well-studied antioxidants and agents with anti-pathogen potential to the lungs; components of this nebulized agent are also likely to be distributed systemically, with potential to enter the central nervous system.
Methods and Findings:
We conducted an analysis of CD8 T-cell function and severity of symptoms by self-report questionnaires in ME/CFS, Long COVID and healthy controls. We developed a CD8 T-cell functional assay, assessing CD8 T-cell dysfunction by intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) in a group of ME/CFS (n = 12) and Long COVID patients (n = 8), comparing to healthy controls (HC) with similar age and sex (n = 10). Magnet-enriched fresh CD8 T-cells in both patient groups had a significantly diminished capacity to produce both cytokines, IFNγ or TNFα, after PMA stimulation when compared to HC. The symptom severity questionnaire showed similar symptom profiles for the two disorders. Fortuitously, through a retrospective case series, we were able to examine the ICS and questionnaire data of 4 ME/CFS and 4 Long COVID patients in conjunction with their treatment (3–15 months). In parallel with the treatment pursued electively by participants in this retrospective case series, there was an increase in CD8 T-cell IFNγ and TNFα production and a decrease in overall self-reported symptom severity score by 54%. No serious treatment-associated side effects or laboratory anomalies were noted in these patients.
Conclusions
Here, in this small study, we present two observations that appear potentially fundamental to the pathogenesis and treatment of Long COVID and ME/CFS.
The first is that both disorders appear to be characterized by dysfunctional CD8 T-cells with severe deficiencies in their abilities to produce IFNγ and TNFα.
The second is that in a small retrospective Long COVID and ME/CFS case series, this immune dysfunction and patient health improved in parallel with treatment with an immunomodulatory, antioxidant pharmacological treatment with anticipated anti-pathogen activity.
This work provides evidence of the potential utility of a biomarker, CD8 T-cell dysfunction, and suggests the potential for benefit from a new nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen treatment. These immune biomarker data may help build capacity for improved diagnosis and tracking of treatment outcomes during clinical trials for both Long COVID and ME/CFS while providing clues to new treatment avenues that suggest potential efficacy for both conditions.
UMassChan News: UMass Chan advances research into long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis