ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2021
Afucosylated IgG characterizes enveloped viral responses and correlates with COVID-19 severity.
Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 282 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
282 citing papers in PubMed, 403 citations in OpenAlex.
- Influence of anti-Spike protein antibody levels on tocilizumab efficacy in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: a post-hoc analysis of the COVACTA trial.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Trial
- Nucleocapsid-specific antibody function is associated with therapeutic benefits from COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy.Cell reports. Medicine · 2022Trial
- Article
- Afucosylated VAR2CSA-Specific IgG Reduces Risks of Placental Malaria.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Article
- Longitudinal assessment of functional antibodies to a novel influenza virus strain across age groups.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Vaccination-first immune priming shapes a sustained mRNA vaccine-induced IgG4 class switch that associates with SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection risk.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Glycosylation profile ofiScience · 2026Article
- Megakaryocytes Internalize and Are Activated by Immune Complexes.Circulation research · 2026Article
- Xenosialylation as immunological chimerism: a host-centered unifying model for viral and post-vaccination immune complications.European cytokine network · 2026Review
- Characterization of IgG N-glycan patterns in COVID-19, sepsis and healthy subjects.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Atypical B cells and inflammatory profiles delineate immunity to influenza vaccination in First Nations and non-Indigenous people with chronic multimorbidity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The association between plasma IgG N-glycosylation and viral encephalitis in children: a hospital-based case-control study.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Antibody-Dependent Immune Complex Signaling and Inflammatory Cytokine Responses in Acute Febrile Illness: A Mechanistic Study in Arboviral and Leptospiral Infection.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Selection of Functional Glycoforms in Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Human IgG1 Monoclonal Antibodies by FcγRIIIa Affinity Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Antigen-specific IgG glycosylation profiles in hamsters and macaques following COVID-19 vaccination.iScience · 2026Article
- Building better antibody responses: The interplay of infection, vaccination, and immune imprinting.PNAS nexus · 2026Review
- Article
- Site-specific profiling of structure and function of Igµ B cell receptor glycans.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Signal peptide peptidase- and SPP-like 3-dependent shedding of α1,6-fucosyltransferase differentially affects core fucosylation.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
222 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
34 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies are crucial for protection against invading pathogens. A highly conserved N-linked glycan within the IgG-Fc tail, which is essential for IgG function, shows variable composition in humans. Afucosylated IgG variants are already used in anticancer therapeutic antibodies for their increased activity through Fc receptors (FcγRIIIa). Here, we report that afucosylated IgG (approximately 6% of total IgG in humans) are specifically formed against enveloped viruses but generally not against other antigens. This mediates stronger FcγRIIIa responses but also amplifies brewing cytokine storms and immune-mediated pathologies. Critically ill COVID-19 patients, but not those with mild symptoms, had high concentrations of afucosylated IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), amplifying proinflammatory cytokine release and acute phase responses. Thus, antibody glycosylation plays a critical role in immune responses to enveloped viruses, including COVID-19.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.