COVID-19 severity linked to autoantibodies against blood clotting protein COVID19 ADAMTS13 antibodies DiseaseSeverity Diagnostic SARSCoV2 Immunothrombosis SciReports
By Neha MathurJul 2 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent article published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers performed a prospective observational study in three healthcare centers in Germany to understand the impact of ADAMTS13 activity during coronavirus disease 2019 .
Recent studies have demonstrated that COVID-19 markedly increases VWF antigen levels which, in turn, exceeds ADAMTS13 processing capacity. Eventually, this leads to the formation of large VWF multimers similar to what occurs in TTP. Thus, the ADAMTS13/VWF antigen ratio can be used as an independent predictor of COVID-19 severity and mortality.
A total of 156 patients at Ruhr-University Bochum, University of Duisburg-Essen, and Asklepios Klinikum Hamburg Harburg hospitals were included in the current study, 90 of whom were hospitalized due to COVID-19. Along with increased VWF release, increased ADAMTS13 autoantibody levels contributed to a decreased ADAMTS13/VWF:Ag ratio. Notably, in the diagnosis of TTP, reduced ADAMTS13 activity and ADAMTS13 autoantibodies in serum are well-established criteria.
Other studies have shown that COVID-19 patients exhibit lupus- and rheumatoid arthritis-like antibody patterns. Accordingly, critically ill COVID-19 patients also exhibit hallmarks of B-cell activation and B-cell repertoire observed in autoimmune settings.
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