Integrative Multidimensional Profiling of Individuals Recovered from Mild COVID-19 Reveals Immune–Metabolic–Oxidative Network Interactions

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need to better characterize immune and molecular responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Beyond antibody and cellular immunity, COVID-19 involves oxidative stress and DNA damage, affecting repair mechanisms and metabolic adaptation linked to immune resilience. Here, we present a multidimensional analysis of 20 individuals who recovered from mild COVID-19, integrating clinical features with humoral and cellular immune responses, T cell and myeloid phenotypes, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and metabolomic and lipidomic profiles. Although most individual parameters fell within physiological ranges, network modeling revealed structured associations spanning multiple biological domains. A central finding was a coherent cluster organized around vaccine dose number, linking anti-Spike antibody titers, oxidative stress, bioenergetic signatures, and granulocyte activation. Higher vaccination was associated with stronger humoral responses, lower oxidative stress, and a more balanced myeloid–metabolic profile, suggesting a potential protective role extending beyond antibody induction. Additional associations linked symptom patterns to T cell differentiation states, anti-nucleocapsid responses to systemic inflammation, and anaerobic signatures to DNA damage markers, revealing interconnections between immunometabolism, clinical expression, and genomic stress. Despite the small sample size, these findings offer a preliminary systems-level perspective on mild COVID-19 recovery and illustrate the value of integrative exploratory frameworks in infectious disease research, laying the groundwork for validation in larger longitudinal cohorts.

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Publication Details

Journal
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Published
2026-07-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27146518
Primary Topic
COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
Type
article
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article

Integrative Multidimensional Profiling of Individuals Recovered from Mild COVID-19 Reveals Immune–Metabolic–Oxidative Network Interactions

Mattea Chirico, Enrica Montefiore, Alessandro Giuliani, Antonio Martina et al.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
article

Integrative Multidimensional Profiling of Individuals Recovered from Mild COVID-19 Reveals Immune–Metabolic–Oxidative Network Interactions

Mattea Chirico, Enrica Montefiore, Alessandro Giuliani, Antonio Martina, C Andreoli, Francesca Urbani, Martina Borghi, Francesca Marcon, Valentina Durastanti, Egidio Iorio, Maria Elena Pisanu, Donatella Pietraforte, Francesca Luciani, Iole Macchia, Maria Cristina Quattrini, Valentina La Sorsa, Fabiola Mancini, Maria Concetta Altavista
article en

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need to better characterize immune and molecular responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Beyond antibody and cellular immunity, COVID-19 involves oxidative stress and DNA damage, affecting repair mechanisms and metabolic adaptation linked to immune resilience. Here, we present a multidimensional analysis of 20 individuals who recovered from mild COVID-19, integrating clinical features with humoral and cellular immune responses, T cell and myeloid phenotypes, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and metabolomic and lipidomic profiles. Although most individual parameters fell within physiological ranges, network modeling revealed structured associations spanning multiple biological domains. A central finding was a coherent cluster organized around vaccine dose number, linking anti-Spike antibody titers, oxidative stress, bioenergetic signatures, and granulocyte activation. Higher vaccination was associated with stronger humoral responses, lower oxidative stress, and a more balanced myeloid–metabolic profile, suggesting a potential protective role extending beyond antibody induction. Additional associations linked symptom patterns to T cell differentiation states, anti-nucleocapsid responses to systemic inflammation, and anaerobic signatures to DNA damage markers, revealing interconnections between immunometabolism, clinical expression, and genomic stress. Despite the small sample size, these findings offer a preliminary systems-level perspective on mild COVID-19 recovery and illustrate the value of integrative exploratory frameworks in infectious disease research, laying the groundwork for validation in larger longitudinal cohorts.

International Journal of Molecular SciencesVol. 27(14)
Ospedale San Filippo Neri (IT), National Institute of Health (AM)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
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