tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
PLoS One
. 2025 Mar 6;20(3):e0316373.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316373. eCollection 2025. Increased galanin-galanin receptor 1 signaling, inflammation, and insulin resistance are associated with affective symptoms and chronic fatigue syndrome due to long COVID
Wasim Talib Mahdi Al Masoodi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sami Waheed Radhi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Habiba Khdair Abdalsada[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mengqi Niu[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Hussein Kadhem Al-Hakeim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael Maes[SUP] 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Patients with Long COVID (LC) often experience neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), collectively referred to as the physio-affective phenome of LC. Activated immune-inflammatory pathways and insulin resistance significantly contribute to the physio-affective phenome associated with LC.
Methods: In a cohort of 90 individuals, categorized into those with and without LC, we evaluated, 3-6 months following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, the correlations between the Hamilton Depression (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety (HAMA), and Fibro-Fatigue (FF) Rating Scale scores, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), galanin-galanin receptor 1 (GAL-GALR1) signaling, insulin resistance, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI1), S100B and neuron-specific enolase (NSE).
Results: HAMD, HAMA, FF scores, CRP, PGE2, GAL-GALR1 signaling, insulin resistance, PAI1, NSE, and S100B are all higher in people with LC compared to those without LC. The HAMD/HAMA/FF scores were significantly correlated with PGE, CRP, GAL, GALR1, insulin resistance, and PAI1 levels, and a composite score based on peak body temperature (PBT) - oxygen saturation (SpO2) (PBT/SpO2 index) during the acute infectious phase. A combination of biomarkers explained a large part of the variance in CFS and affective scores (33.6%-42.0%), with GAL-GALR1 signaling, PGE2, and CRP being the top 3 most important biomarkers. The inclusion of the PBT/SpO2 index increased the prediction (55.3%-67.1%). The PBT/SpO2 index predicted the increases in GAL-GALR1 signaling.
Conclusion: These results indicate that the CFS and affective symptoms that are linked to LC are the consequence of metabolic aberrations, activated immune-inflammatory pathways, and the severity of inflammation during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
. 2025 Mar 6;20(3):e0316373.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316373. eCollection 2025. Increased galanin-galanin receptor 1 signaling, inflammation, and insulin resistance are associated with affective symptoms and chronic fatigue syndrome due to long COVID
Wasim Talib Mahdi Al Masoodi[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sami Waheed Radhi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Habiba Khdair Abdalsada[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mengqi Niu[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Hussein Kadhem Al-Hakeim[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael Maes[SUP] 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 40048451
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316373
Background: Patients with Long COVID (LC) often experience neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), collectively referred to as the physio-affective phenome of LC. Activated immune-inflammatory pathways and insulin resistance significantly contribute to the physio-affective phenome associated with LC.
Methods: In a cohort of 90 individuals, categorized into those with and without LC, we evaluated, 3-6 months following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, the correlations between the Hamilton Depression (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety (HAMA), and Fibro-Fatigue (FF) Rating Scale scores, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), galanin-galanin receptor 1 (GAL-GALR1) signaling, insulin resistance, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI1), S100B and neuron-specific enolase (NSE).
Results: HAMD, HAMA, FF scores, CRP, PGE2, GAL-GALR1 signaling, insulin resistance, PAI1, NSE, and S100B are all higher in people with LC compared to those without LC. The HAMD/HAMA/FF scores were significantly correlated with PGE, CRP, GAL, GALR1, insulin resistance, and PAI1 levels, and a composite score based on peak body temperature (PBT) - oxygen saturation (SpO2) (PBT/SpO2 index) during the acute infectious phase. A combination of biomarkers explained a large part of the variance in CFS and affective scores (33.6%-42.0%), with GAL-GALR1 signaling, PGE2, and CRP being the top 3 most important biomarkers. The inclusion of the PBT/SpO2 index increased the prediction (55.3%-67.1%). The PBT/SpO2 index predicted the increases in GAL-GALR1 signaling.
Conclusion: These results indicate that the CFS and affective symptoms that are linked to LC are the consequence of metabolic aberrations, activated immune-inflammatory pathways, and the severity of inflammation during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.