{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T04:13:04Z","timestamp":1781669584714,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]],"date-time":"2024-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713312000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>COVID-19 patients can develop autoantibodies against a variety of secreted and membrane proteins, including some expressed on lymphocytes. However, it is unclear what proportion of patients might develop anti-lymphocyte antibodies (ALAb) and what functional relevance they might have.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We evaluated the presence and lytic function of ALAb in the sera of a cohort of 85 COVID-19 patients (68 unvaccinated and 17 vaccinated) assigned to mild (N=63), or moderate\/severe disease (N=22) groups. Thirty-seven patients were followed-up after recovery. We also analyzed in vivo complement deposition on COVID-19 patients\u2019 lymphocytes and examined its correlation with lymphocyte numbers during acute disease.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Compared with healthy donors (HD), patients had an increased prevalence of IgM ALAb, which was significantly higher in moderate\/severe disease patients and persisted after recovery. Sera from IgM ALAb+ patients exhibited complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) against HD lymphocytes. Complement protein C3b deposition on patients\u2019 CD4 T cells was inversely correlated with CD4 T cell numbers. This correlation was stronger in moderate\/severe disease patients.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>IgM ALAb and complement activation against lymphocytes may contribute to the acute lymphopenia observed in COVID-19 patients.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2024.1352330","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]],"date-time":"2024-04-17T04:49:59Z","timestamp":1713329399000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Prevalence of anti-lymphocyte IgM autoantibodies driving complement activation in COVID-19 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