Immunoserologic Detection and Diagnostic Relevance of Cross-Reactive Autoantibodies in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

Abstract

Abstract Background During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we detected a new immunofluorescence (IF) pattern in serum autoantibody (autoAb) screening of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. Methods The IF pattern was composed of liver and gastric mucosa staining on rat kidney/liver/stomach sections. Results We describe 12 patients positive for the cross-reactive antibody, compared with a negative group of 43 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, finding association with either neurologic or thrombotic complications. In sequential pre- and post-COVID-19 serum samples, we confirmed autoAb seroconversion. Conclusions Our data indicate that autoAb screening in COVID-19 patients may be easily performed by IF and alert for autoreactive-mediated complications such as thrombotic or neurologic events.