2026-04-14T03:26:59Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:10256/246632025-05-01T19:00:24Zcom_2072_452955com_2072_2054col_2072_452960

Endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk in post-COVID-19 patients after 6- and 12-months SARS-CoV-2 infection Poyatos Dorado, Paula Luque, Neus Sabater Talaverano, Gladis Eizaguirre, Saioa Bonnin Vilaplana, Marc Orriols Martínez, Ramon Tura-Ceide, Olga Sistema cardiovascular -- Malalties Cardiovascular system -- Diseases COVID-19 (Malaltia) COVID-19 (Disease) Endoteli Endothelium SARS-CoV-2 infection causes severe endothelial damage, an essential step for cardiovascular complications. Endothelial-colony forming cells (ECFCs) act as a biomarker of vascular damage but their role in SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess whether the number of ECFCs and angiogenic biomarkers remained altered after 6 and 12-months post-infection and whether this imbalance correlated with the presence of long-COVID syndrome and other biological parameters measured. Methods Seventy-two patients were recruited at different time-points after overcoming COVID-19 and thirty-one healthy controls. All subjects were matched for age, gender, BMI, and comorbidities. ECFCs were obtained from peripheral blood and cultured with specific conditions. Results The results confirm the presence of a long-term sequela in post-COVID-19 patients, with an abnormal increase in ECFC production compared to controls (82.8% vs. 48.4%, P < 0.01) that is maintained up to 6-months (87.0% vs. 48.4%, P < 0.01) and 12-months post-infection (85.0% vs. 48.4%, P < 0.01). Interestingly, post-COVID-19 patients showed a significant downregulation of angiogenesis-related proteins compared to controls indicating a clear endothelial injury. Troponin, NT-proBNP and ferritin levels, markers of cardiovascular risk and inflammation, remained elevated up to 12-months post-infection. Patients with lower numbers of ECFC exhibited higher levels of inflammatory markers, such as ferritin, suggesting that ECFCs may play a protective role. Additionally, long-COVID syndrome was associated with higher ferritin levels and with female gender. Conclusions These findings highlight the presence of vascular sequela that last up to 6- and 12-months post-infection and point out the need for preventive measures and patient follow-up Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature 2024-08 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion peer-reviewed http://hdl.handle.net/10256/24663 38324145 PMC11289012 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s15010-024-02173-5 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0300-8126 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1439-0973 Attribution 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess application/pdf Springer Infection, 2024, vol. 52, p. 1269-1285 Articles publicats (D-CM)