Autoantibodies against type I interferons in COVID-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases Vol. 130; pp. 147 - 152
• Main Authors: Wang, Xi, Tang, Qi, Li, Hongmei, Jiang, Honglin, Xu, Jing, Bergquist, Robert, Qin, Zhiqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2023; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anti-type-I-IFN-autoantibodies; Autoantibodies; COVID-19; Female; Humans; Interferon Type I; Interferon-alpha; Interferons; Male; Meta-analysis; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Anti-type-I-IFN-autoantibodies; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.03.011

•COVID-19 was found to be associated with autoantibodies against type I interferons (IFNs).•The most common subtypes were anti-IFN-α (89%) and anti-IFN-ω (77%).•The prevalence of anti-IFN-I autoantibodies was 10% in patients with severe COVID-19.•Anti-IFN-I autoantibodies were more common in male patients. In this study, we aimed to study the rate of autoantibodies against type I interferons (IFNs) in patients with COVID-19 and analyze its dependence on severity of infection and some other variables. A systemic review with the search terms: “COVID-19” or “SARS-CoV-2” and “autoantibodies” or “autoantibody” and “IFN” or “interferon” for the period 20 December 2019 to 15 August 2022 was carried out using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science. R 4.2.1 software was used for meta-analysis of the published results. Pooled risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. We identified eight studies involving 7729 patients, of whom 5097 (66%) had severe COVID-19 and 2632 (34%) had mild or moderate symptoms. The positive rate of anti-type-I-IFN-autoantibodies in the total dataset was 5% (95% CI, 3-8%), but reached 10% (95% CI, 7-14%) in those with severe infection. The most common subtypes were anti-IFN-α (89%) and anti-IFN-ω (77%). The overall prevalence in male patients was 5% (95% CI, 4-6%), and in female patients 2% (95% CI, 1-3%). Severe COVID-19 is associated with high rates of autoantibodies against type-I-IFN and more so in male than female patients.