Functional Autoantibodies Targeting G-Protein-Coupled Receptors and Their Clinical Phenotype in Patients with Long-COVID

Long-COVID (LC) is characterized by diverse and persistent symptoms, potentially mirroring different molecular pathways. Recent data might offer that one of them is mediated by functional autoantibodies (fAAb) targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical phenotype of patients with LC in relation to their GPCR-fAAb seropositivity. The present study recruited 194 patients with LC and profiled them based on self-reported symptoms. GPCR-fAAb seropositivity was identified by using a cardiomyocyte bioassay, testing the presence and functionality of the AAbs. Logistic regression, clustering, and decision tree analyses were applied to examine associations between GPCR-fAAb profiles and self-reported symptoms considering age and gender. The most prevalent GPCR-fAAbs in patients with LC were fAAB targeting the β2 adrenergic receptor (β2-fAAb, 92.8%), the muscarinergic M2 receptor (M2-fAAb, 87.1%), the Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-fAAb, 85.6%), and angiotensin (1-7) Mas receptor (MAS-fAAb, 85.6%). β2-fAAb showed a significant relation with dizziness, lack of concentration, and POTS, while Endothelin Type A receptor functional autoantibody (ET-A-fAAb) was significantly related to deterioration of pre-existing neurological disorders. Statistical analysis indicated a strong positive correlation between M2- and β2-fAAb; as in addition, an association of β2-fAAb and gender was observed to one of the major clinical symptoms (fatigue/PEM), a critical impact of GPCR-fAAb on LC-pathogenesis can be assumed. Summing up, the present data show that specific GPCR-fAAb are associated with distinct clinical phenotypes. Especially, the combination of M2- and β2-fAAb seemed to be essential for the LC-phenotype with a combination of fatigue/PEM and lack of concentration as major clinical symptoms.