CMV seropositivity is a potential novel risk factor for severe COVID-19 in non-geriatric patients.

Weber S, Kehl V, Erber J, Wagner KI, Jetzlsperger AM, Burrell T, Schober K, Schommers P, Augustin M, Crowell CS, Gerhard M, Winter C, Moosmann A, Spinner CD, Protzer U, Hoffmann D, D'Ippolito E, Busch DH (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

PLoS ONE Public Library of Science

Book Volume: 17

Journal Issue: 5

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268530

Abstract

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has so far affected more than 250 million individuals worldwide, causing more than 5 million deaths. Several risk factors for severe disease have been identified, most of which coincide with advanced age. In younger individuals, severe COVID-19 often occurs in the absence of obvious comorbidities. Guided by the finding of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T cells with some cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 in a COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patient, we decided to investigate whether CMV seropositivity is associated with severe or critical COVID-19. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) serostatus was investigated as control. METHODS: National German COVID-19 bio-sample and data banks were used to retrospectively analyze the CMV and HSV serostatus of patients who experienced mild (n = 101), moderate (n = 130) or severe to critical (n = 80) disease by IgG serology. We then investigated the relationship between disease severity and herpesvirus serostatus via statistical models. RESULTS: Non-geriatric patients (< 60 years) with severe COVID-19 were found to have a very high prevalence of CMV-seropositivity, while CMV status distribution in individuals with mild disease was similar to the prevalence in the German population; interestingly, this was not detectable in older patients. Prediction models support the hypothesis that the CMV serostatus, unlike HSV, might be a strong biomarker in identifying younger individuals with a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, in particular in absence of other co-morbidities. CONCLUSIONS: We identified 'CMV-seropositivity' as a potential novel risk factor for severe COVID-19 in non-geriatric individuals in the studied cohorts. More mechanistic analyses as well as confirmation of similar findings in cohorts representing the currently most relevant SARS-CoV-2 variants should be performed shortly.

Authors with CRIS profile

Kilian Schober Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Köln DE Germany (DE) LMU Klinikum DE Germany (DE) Klinikum rechts der Isar DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Weber, S., Kehl, V., Erber, J., Wagner, K.I., Jetzlsperger, A.M., Burrell, T.,... Busch, D.H. (2022). CMV seropositivity is a potential novel risk factor for severe COVID-19 in non-geriatric patients. PLoS ONE, 17(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268530

MLA:

Weber, Simone, et al. "CMV seropositivity is a potential novel risk factor for severe COVID-19 in non-geriatric patients." PLoS ONE 17.5 (2022).

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