Cytokine Profile in Children Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Preliminary Findings

Danilo Buonsenso; Anna Camporesi; Gabriele Di Sante; Michela Sali; Maria Del Carmen Pereyra Boza; Rosa Morello; Piero Valentini; Francesca Raffaelli; Lucie Rodriguez; Laura Gonzalez; Anette Johnsson; Constantin Habimana Mugabo; Tadepally Lakshmikanth; Petter Brodin

doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000004558

Cytokine Profile in Children Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Preliminary Findings

Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2025 Jan 1;44(1):54-57. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000004558. Epub 2024 Oct 1.

Authors

Danilo Buonsenso^{1

2

3}, Anna Camporesi⁴, Gabriele Di Sante⁵, Michela Sali^{6

7}, Maria Del Carmen Pereyra Boza⁶, Rosa Morello¹, Piero Valentini¹, Francesca Raffaelli⁸, Lucie Rodriguez⁹, Laura Gonzalez⁹, Anette Johnsson⁹, Constantin Habimana Mugabo⁹, Tadepally Lakshmikanth⁹, Petter Brodin^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
² Centers for Global Health Research Studies, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
³ Area Pediatrica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e di Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, "Vittore Buzzi" Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy.
⁵ Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Human, Clinical and Forensic Anatomy, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
⁶ Dipartimento di Scienze di Laboratorio e Infettivologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli," IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁷ Dipartimento di Scienze biotecnologiche di base, Cliniche intensivologiche e perioperatorie-Sezione di Microbiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
⁸ Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, UOC di Malattie infettive, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁹ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
¹⁰ Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College Hammersmith Campus, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

We provide preliminary evidence that, also in children, Long coronavirus disease (COVID) may be characterized by a proinflammatory signature. Ten Long COVID patients, 7 convalescent subjects after COVID infection and 4 healthy controls were enrolled. When adjusted for sex, children with long COVID had statistically significant differences in the levels of Flt3L, CD5, uPA, CCL23, CD40 and TGFα. When adjusted for age, CCL23 levels remained statistically significant.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19* / blood
COVID-19* / immunology
Child
Child, Preschool
Cytokines* / blood
Female
Humans
Male
SARS-CoV-2* / immunology

Substances

Cytokines