Impaired Treg Response and Subclinical Cardiac Dysfunction in Children Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection
In a preliminary cohort of children recovering from asymptomatic or mild coronavirus disease 2019, subclinical cardiac contractility alterations were associated with reduced regulatory T cells, shorter telomeres and elevated inflammatory markers 3 months post-infection. These findings suggest that immune dysregulation may contribute to silent post-coronavirus disease 2019 cardiac dysfunction and warrant confirmation in larger cohorts with long-term follow-up.
Authors
- Jolanda Sabatino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1661-5419)
- Maria Raffaella Petrara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3609-6107)
- Emma Concetta Manno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0095-8167)
- Francesco Bonfante
- Marthe Le Prevost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5505-9809)
- Anita De Rossi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6435-7509)
- Francesco Carmona
- Domenico Sirico
- Anna Cantarutti
- Daniele Donà
- Giovanni Di Salvo
- Danilo Buonsenso
- Carlo Giaquinto
- Costanza Di Chiara
Institutions
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT)
- University of Padua (IT)
- Hospital for Sick Children (CA)
- Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic (IT)
- Magna Graecia University (IT)
- PENTA Foundation (IT)
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL (GB)
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IT)
- Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IT)
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IT)
- SickKids Foundation (CA)
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (CA)
- University College London (GB)
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
- Published
- 2026-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1097/inf.0000000000005192
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Cardiac Fibrosis and Remodeling
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 30.07