SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elicits a wide range of effects on the human body, many of which are sex-specific. For example, males and females are equally likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2, but men are more likely to experience worse outcomes and death, regardless of age. Findings from a recent study suggest that men are more likely than women to develop autoimmune activation after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Autoimmune activation occurs when the body launches an immune response to its own tissue, driving autoimmune disease. Scientists don’t fully understand the causes of autoimmune activation, but evidence suggests that interactions between genetic and environmental factors play critical roles. Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 7 percent of people in the United States and are more common in women than in men. Examples include type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis.
The authors of the study recruited male and female health care workers who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and were either symptomatic or asymptomatic for COVID-19. They tested the participants' blood to identify the presence of autoantibodies – antibodies that are directed against the body’s own tissues. Then they measured the autoantibodies' reactivity to proteins linked to several common autoimmune disorders.
They found that males and females who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 had autoantibodies in their blood that persisted up to six months post infection, regardless of disease severity. However, men were more likely to exhibit greater autoantibody reactivity, especially if they had experienced at least a mild infection.
These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits an autoimmune response that may persist several months, potentially contributing to the phenomenon known as “long COVID.” Males appear to be more vulnerable to this autoimmune response than females. Learn more about the long-term complications associated with COVID-19 in this episode featuring Dr. Roger Seheult.
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