NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The severity of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) is strongly linked to a dysregulated immune response. This fuels the fear of severe disease in patients with autoimmune disorders continuously using immunosuppressive/immunomodulating medications. One complication of COVID-19 is thromboembol...
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Cells |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/17/2619 |
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| author | Jasmin Knopf Johanna Sjöwall Martina Frodlund Jorma Hinkula Martin Herrmann Christopher Sjöwall |
| author_facet | Jasmin Knopf Johanna Sjöwall Martina Frodlund Jorma Hinkula Martin Herrmann Christopher Sjöwall |
| author_sort | Jasmin Knopf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The severity of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) is strongly linked to a dysregulated immune response. This fuels the fear of severe disease in patients with autoimmune disorders continuously using immunosuppressive/immunomodulating medications. One complication of COVID-19 is thromboembolism caused by intravascular aggregates of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) occluding the affected vessels. Like COVID-19, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by, amongst others, an increased risk of thromboembolism. An imbalance between NET formation and clearance is suggested to play a prominent role in exacerbating autoimmunity and disease severity. Serologic evidence of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has a minor impact on the SLE course in a Swedish cohort reportedly. Herein, we assessed NET formation in patients from this cohort by neutrophil elastase (NE) activity and the presence of cell-free DNA, MPO-DNA, and NE-DNA complexes and correlated the findings to the clinical parameters. The presence of NE-DNA complexes and NE activity differed significantly in pre-pandemic versus pandemic serum samples. The latter correlated significantly with the hemoglobin concentration, blood cell counts, and complement protein 3 and 4 levels in the pre-pandemic but only with the leukocyte count and neutrophil levels in the pandemic serum samples. Taken together, our data suggest a change, especially in the NE activity independent of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e956810a82534081a301a5223e9ebd3d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj.art-e956810a82534081a301a5223e9ebd3d2023-11-23T12:54:02ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092022-08-011117261910.3390/cells11172619NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 PandemicJasmin Knopf0Johanna Sjöwall1Martina Frodlund2Jorma Hinkula3Martin Herrmann4Christopher Sjöwall5Department of Internal Medicine 3—Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Inflammation and Infection/Infectious Diseases, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Inflammation and Infection/Rheumatology, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenDepartment of Internal Medicine 3—Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Inflammation and Infection/Rheumatology, Linköping University, SE-581 85 Linköping, SwedenThe severity of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) is strongly linked to a dysregulated immune response. This fuels the fear of severe disease in patients with autoimmune disorders continuously using immunosuppressive/immunomodulating medications. One complication of COVID-19 is thromboembolism caused by intravascular aggregates of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) occluding the affected vessels. Like COVID-19, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by, amongst others, an increased risk of thromboembolism. An imbalance between NET formation and clearance is suggested to play a prominent role in exacerbating autoimmunity and disease severity. Serologic evidence of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has a minor impact on the SLE course in a Swedish cohort reportedly. Herein, we assessed NET formation in patients from this cohort by neutrophil elastase (NE) activity and the presence of cell-free DNA, MPO-DNA, and NE-DNA complexes and correlated the findings to the clinical parameters. The presence of NE-DNA complexes and NE activity differed significantly in pre-pandemic versus pandemic serum samples. The latter correlated significantly with the hemoglobin concentration, blood cell counts, and complement protein 3 and 4 levels in the pre-pandemic but only with the leukocyte count and neutrophil levels in the pandemic serum samples. Taken together, our data suggest a change, especially in the NE activity independent of exposure to SARS-CoV-2.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/17/2619COVID-19SARS-CoV-2systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)neutrophilsneutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) |
| spellingShingle | Jasmin Knopf Johanna Sjöwall Martina Frodlund Jorma Hinkula Martin Herrmann Christopher Sjöwall NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic Cells COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) neutrophils neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) |
| title | NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | NET Formation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | net formation in systemic lupus erythematosus changes during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) neutrophils neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/17/2619 |
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