{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,4]],"date-time":"2026-07-04T15:31:32Z","timestamp":1783179092926,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]],"date-time":"2025-03-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741910400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004281","name":"Narodowe Centrum Nauki","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2020\/39\/B\/NZ6\/00357"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/39\/B\/NZ6\/00357"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004281","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Although some reports suggest that COVID-19 vaccination may exacerbate existing autoimmune diseases or trigger new-onset cases, a definitive causal relationship between the vaccines and these conditions has not been established. Several potential mechanisms have been proposed to explain this association, including: (i) molecular mimicry, which refers to a structural similarity between SARS-CoV-2 and human antigens; (ii) bystander activation, involving both B and T lymphocytes; and (iii) the effects of adjuvants. In this study, we investigated whether two doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine influenced blood cytokine levels associated with major T helper cell populations, which are known to play a significant role in autoimmunity and revisited the role of the humoral autoimmune response directed against heat shock proteins (Hsps) in individuals with no history of COVID-19. While no significant differences were found in the levels of IFN-\u03b3, IL-6, IL-22, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-17A, between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, several positive correlations were observed between serum cytokine levels and circulating autoantibodies directed against self-Hsps exclusively in vaccinated individuals. These findings suggest that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine does not impact cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Further research is required to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with autoimmune conditions, particularly those in whom anti-Hsps autoantibodies are suspected to contribute to disease development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1549739","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]],"date-time":"2025-03-14T05:14:50Z","timestamp":1741929290000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The impact of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine on the Th-like cytokine profile in individuals with no history of COVID-19: insights into autoimmunity targeting heat shock proteins"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Stefan","family":"Tukaj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Sitna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Sitko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.12839","article-title":"Pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): a review","volume":"324","author":"Wiersinga","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eclinm.2022.101619","article-title":"Long-term cardiovascular outcomes in COVID-19 survivors among non-vaccinated population: A retrospective cohort 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