@BaszkoM @RorPreston @polybioRF That is not correct. We are working very hard on ME/CFS projects in addition to LC, and almost every day we work with teams to determine how more of our LC projects can be pivoted to ME/CFS in the future @BaszkoM @RorPreston @polybioRF 2/ ME/CFS projects include this collaborative study determining immune activity, microclotting and other infectious parameters in ME/CFS patients with peripheral neuropathy: polybio.org/projects/immun…

For more context: The team found #SARS-CoV-2 proteins indicative of viral persistence in 25% of people up to 14 months after #COVID. They controlled for vaccination + reinfection. There were very few false positives in the pre-pandemic samples, confirming accuracy of the methods

https://twitter.com/microbeminded2/status/1777482756534243827

2/ The viral proteins were found in participant blood. Where did they come from? As described in our paper below, it’s possible that at least some of the proteins “leak” into blood from persistent reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 in tissue (gut, lungs etc): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37667052/

Tell @ChrisCuomo that 33 scientists from 14 institutions joined forces to write this paper documenting evidence for #SARS-CoV-2 persistence as a potential driver of #LongCOVID. We call for more clinical trials of drugs capable of clearing persistent virus: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37667052/

https://twitter.com/r_prior/status/1747418103460331691

2/ We have formed a global #Consortium to study SARS-CoV-2 persistence: to determine if reservoirs of the #virus in LongCOVID tissue can drive widespread dysfunction including clotting, #microbiome, and neuroimmune abnormalities: polybio.org/longcovid

I want to add that I see #SARS-CoV-2 persistence as part of a larger picture in which other latent pathogens and/or #microbiome organisms also harbored by a patient play an important role in the ultimate set up symptoms they develop

https://twitter.com/loscharlos/status/1730375440949514370

2/ Pathogens harbored by a patient at the time of SARS-CoV-2 #infection may serve as a predisposing factor to either persistence of the virus or increased disease in the acute phase

Incredible to see the technology being developed openly here - not just to mitigate #COVID-19 but to create an innovative global infrastructure that positions humanity in excellent shape to combat the next airborne #virus pandemic

https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1729251856780829144

2/ To advance this movement in which novel tools to study & contain airborne #pathogens are actively being built, one must reject the narrative that there are only two paths forward 1) To 'care' abt airborne #infection means lockdowns 2) Freedom means ignoring airborne infection

Incredible new paper demonstrating #SARS-CoV-2 persistence + associated immune modulation in macaque monkeys. The team found replication competent SARS-CoV-2 virus in macaque lung alveolar #macrophages beyond 6 months postinfection: nature.com/articles/s4159… 2/ IFN-γ production was impaired in NK cells from macaques with persisting virus. Moreover, IFN-γ also enhanced the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-E on lung alveolar macrophages, possibly inhibiting NK cell-mediated killing

This new preprint found that exposure + antibody responses to previous Coronaviruses may modulate the NeuroPASC (#LongCovid) immune response in a manner that could make such patients less likely to clear the SARS-CoV-2 virus: medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
2/ Specifically, they found that neuroPASC patients exhibited attenuated systemic antibody responses against #SARS-CoV-2, characterized by decreased capacity to activate antibody-dependent complement deposition, NK cell activation + to bind Fcγ receptors

I am excited to share our new position paper on #SARS-CoV-2 reservoir (viral persistence) in Long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC): nature.com/articles/s4159… 2/ We review evidence showing that some Long COVID patients may not fully clear the SARS-CoV-2 #virus after acute infection. Instead, replicating virus and/or viral RNA - potentially capable of being translated to produce viral proteins - persist in tissue as a "reservoir"

In this new paper @DrMaureenHanson argues that persistent enterovirus infection in tissue (enterovirus reservoir) may play a central role in the #ME/CFS disease process. I agree. journals.plos.org/plospathogens/… 2/ Multiple historic ME/CFS outbreaks could be explained by an enterovirus onset (outbreaks often coincided w/ outbreaks of polio), and enterovirus RNA or protein has been found in ME/CFS brain, muscle, or intestinal tissue: me-pedia.org/wiki/List_of_e…

This autopsy study found #SARS-CoV-2 RNA in #vagus nerve samples obtained from severe #COVID-19 patients. Direct infection of the vagus nerve was accompanied by inflammatory cell infiltration derived primarily from monocytes: .pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37452829/#:~:t… 2/ Because the vagus nerve is an essential component of the #autonomic nervous system and regulates body functions such as heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate, direct infection of the nerve by SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to related symptoms

Some highlights from this article: “We absolutely need to, in great detail, try to understand what, if any, role persistence of viral RNA and other viral components might play in long Covid,” Chertow [head of NIH's Emerging Pathogens Section] said.

https://twitter.com/Quicktake/status/1631037880930906113

2/ No one knows whether the coronavirus or its remnants remain in everyone who’s had Covid, or if it’s just a group of patients, said Timothy Henrich, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

This is one of the most concerning examples of #SARS-CoV-2 persistence to date 👉 The team found SARS-CoV-2 RNA + Spike protein in the stool of 11/14 newborn babies born to mothers who had #COVID-19 resolve 10+ weeks before delivery: nature.com/articles/s4139… 2/ The team concludes that “the findings suggest in utero transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and possible persistent intestinal #viral reservoirs in the newborns”

New @polybioRF podcast 👉 I interviewed Dr. Diane Griffin: A Chair of Molecular Microbiology/Immunology at Johns Hopkins. We discuss RNA virus persistence w/ implications for LongCovid. Listen on Spotify (open.spotify.com/episode/4ICxWL…) or watch on Youtube () 2/ Diane explains how RNA from viruses such as measles, Ebola, Zika and SARS-CoV-2 can perisist in host cells for years after acute infection despite patients not being overtly infectious. This viral RNA is often transcriptionally active and can modulate the host immune response

This important study found a significantly elevated frequency of #SARS-CoV-2-specific TNF-α-producing CD8+ T cells in patients with pulmonary #LongCovid (PASC). PASC subjects experienced an average symptom duration of over 6 months: journals.plos.org/plospathogens/… 2/ This is how the authors interpret the finding: "This increased frequency could be detected in response to peptide pools of all the #viral structural proteins in comparison to the resolved #COVID-19 (RC) cohort.

This is the most straightforward explanation for chronic symptoms in at least a subset of #LongCovid patients. Partly b/c if the #virus is still present its activity can directly contribute to other phenomena also being documented in LongCovid

https://twitter.com/fearnley_k/status/1495695480323510276

2/ Persistence of #SARS-CoV-2 in tissue could lead to shedding of spike protein into blood, which can catalyze the ongoing formation of microclots and hyperactivated platelets

New @polybioRF podcast. I interviewed Dr. Tobias Lanz: MD + researcher in the lab of Prof. William Robinson at the Department of Rheumatology/Immunology at Stanford School of Medicine. Listen on Spotify (open.spotify.com/episode/4bTQss…) or watch on Youtube () 2/ In the interview Tobias discusses this breakthrough study he led at Stanford. It showed that a cross-reactive antibody can contribute to #MS neuroinflammation thanks to molecular mimcry b/t an EBV viral protein (EBNA1) + a human CNS protein (GlialCAM): nature.com/articles/s4158…

New @polybioRF podcast: I interviewed Dr. Alessio Fasano: Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Watch on Youtube () or listen on an App like Spotify (open.spotify.com/episode/3KZGCX…) 2/ Alessio discusses this study: His team showed that in children with MIS-C, #SARS-CoV-2 gut reservoir led to release of zonulin (a biomaker of intestinal permeability) + subsequent trafficking of spike protein to into blood, leading to hyperinflammation: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34032635/

@kimisgubbed @VirusesImmunity @KaminskiMed @Be_Kinderr @jenbrea @ahandvanish Hey! Well hypoxic tissue cld lead to lower O2 extraction, & infected tissue is often hypoxic. Most intracellular pathogens hijack metabolism of cells they infect & “push” host mitochondrial metabolism to anerobic glycolysis (O2 not being used for OXPHOS): ij.hapres.com/htmls/IJ_1341_… @kimisgubbed @VirusesImmunity @KaminskiMed @Be_Kinderr @jenbrea @ahandvanish 2/ In fact many intracellular #pathogens either directly or indirectly enhance hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1) stability. HIF-1 is a key glycolytic regulator/transcription factor whose stability reduces reliance on OXPHOS by initiating glycolytic #metabolism

People are asking me: what if we did a similar autopsy study to look for #viruses in ME/CFS? Well, several teams that performed single autopsy studies on #ME/CFS patients found evidence of persistent enterovirus infection in subject brain/body tissue

https://twitter.com/microbeminded2/status/1473721448342687754

2/ Enteroviruses are (like SARS-CoV-2) single-stranded RNA viruses. They include the coxsackieviruses, poliovirus, echoviruses + rhinoviruses. These viruses cause about 10–15 million #infections each year in the USA alone

New preprint: The team did autopsies on 44 patients w/ #COVID-19 to map + quantify SARS-CoV-2 distribution, replication and cell-type specificity across the human body (including brain) from acute infection through over 7 months following symptom onset: researchsquare.com/article/rs-113… 2/ They found that #SARS-CoV-2 was widely distributed, even among patients who died with asymptomatic to mild COVID-19. They also detected persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA in multiple anatomic sites, including regions throughout the #brain, for up to 230 days following symptom onset

New @polybioRF podcast! I interviewed Dr. Resia Pretorius: Department Head/Research Professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Listen on an App like Spotify () or watch on Youtube () 2/ In the interview Resia talks about how her research team has identified microclots resistant to fibrinolysis + hyperactivated platelets in the blood of #LongCovid patients. We also discuss how we are planning to extend the research to #ME/CFS