Case Report: Neutralization of Autoantibodies Targeting G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Improves Capillary Impairment and Fatigue Symptoms After COVID-19 Infection

Frontiers in Medicine

Peter Göttel¹  Johannes Müller¹  Annekathrin Haberland¹  Gerd Wallukat¹  Martin Herrmann²  Martin Kräter²  Thomas Harrer²  Antonio Bergua³  Charlotte Szewczykowski³  Matthias Zenkel³  Felix Heltmann³  Michael Moritz³  Jakob Hoffmanns³  Bettina Hohberger³  Ursula Schlötzer-Schrehardt³  Christian Mardin³  Friedrich Kruse³  Lennart Rogge³  Julia Schottenhamml³  Andreas Gießl³  Robert Lämmer³ 

[1] Berlin Cures GmbH, Berlin, Germany;Department of Internal Medicine 3, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany;Department of Ophthalmology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany;Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen, Germany;

关键词: functional GPCR autoantibodies;    COVID-19;    long-COVID syndrome;    chronic fatigue syndrome;    BC 007;    OCT angiography;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2021.754667

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Clinical features of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Acute infection management is a substantial healthcare issue, and the development of long-Covid syndrome (LCS) is extremely challenging for patients and physicians. It is associated with a variety of characteristics as impaired capillary microcirculation, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), proinflammatory cytokines, and functional autoantibodies targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR-AAbs). Here, we present a case report of successful healing of LCS with BC 007 (Berlin Cures, Berlin, Germany), a DNA aptamer drug with a high affinity to GPCR-AAbs that neutralizes these AAbs. A patient with a documented history of glaucoma, recovered from mild COVID-19, but still suffered from CFS, loss of taste, and impaired capillary microcirculation in the macula and peripapillary region. He was positively tested for various targeting GPCR-AAbs. Within 48 h after a single BC 007 treatment, GPCR-AAbs were functionally inactivated and remained inactive during the observation period of 4 weeks. This observation was accompanied by constant improvement of the fatigue symptoms of the patient, taste, and retinal capillary microcirculation. Therefore, the removal of GPCR-AAb might ameliorate the characteristics of the LCD, such as capillary impairment, loss of taste, and CFS.

【 授权许可】

Unknown