Transfer of IgG from long COVID patients induces symptomology in mice

Transfer of pooled total IgG from long COVID patients induces pronounced and persistent mechanical hypersensitivity in mice.

• Long COVID is associated with the presence of autoantibodies that may play a pathogenic role.
• Patients were stratified into three subgroups based on plasma levels of specific proteins linked to neuroinflammation.
• IgG collected from long COVID patients two years after infection reproduced mechanical allodynia in mice, indicating stability of pathogenic activity.
• Proteome-wide profiling identified elevated, subgroup-specific autoantibodies that persist over time.
• These findings support a potential causal role for autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of long COVID.

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