Editorial: Autoantibodies to Components of the Immune System, Including Type 1 Interferons, and the Risk of Severe COVID-19

Parums, Dinah V.

During the past two years, clinical studies have attempted to identify risk factors to predict clinical outcomes following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In July 2021, a study using a high-throughput technique detected autoantibodies to chemokines, cytokines, and complement components in patients with symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In August 2021, a study identified pre-existing autoantibodies to type 1 interferons (IFNs) in 10% of patients with severe COVID-19 but not asymptomatic individuals. Autoantibodies may be the long-awaited markers of clinical risk for severe COVID-19 in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. This Editorial aims to present some recent findings of autoantibodies to components of the immune system, including type 1 IFNs, and the risk of severe COVID-19.