Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38235145›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2023

T4 apoptosis in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection predicts long COVID.

Renaud Cezar, Lucy Kundura, Sonia André, Claire Lozano, Thierry Vincent, Laurent Muller, Jean-Yves Lefrant, Claire Roger, Pierre-Géraud Claret, Sandra Duvnjak and 5 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Circulating angiogenic progenitor cell apoptosis in Post-COVID-19 syndrome.International journal of cardiology. Heart & vasculature · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. IL-24 in COVID-19 Patients: Correlations with Disease Progression.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Renaud CezarImmunology Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Lucy KunduraInstitute of Human Genetics, UMR9002, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Montpellier University, Montpellier, France.
Sonia AndréInstitut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U1124, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
Claire LozanoImmunology Department, Montpellier University Hospital, Montpellier, France.
Thierry VincentImmunology Department, Montpellier University Hospital, Montpellier, France.
Laurent MullerSurgical Intensive Care Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Jean-Yves LefrantSurgical Intensive Care Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Claire RogerSurgical Intensive Care Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Pierre-Géraud ClaretMedical and Surgical Emergency Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Sandra DuvnjakGerontology Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Paul LoubetInfectious Diseases Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Albert SottoInfectious Diseases Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Tu-Ahn TranPediatrics Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Jérôme Estaquier *Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U1124, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
Pierre Corbeau *Immunology Department, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Université de Nîmes · FRUniversité de Montpellier · FRInserm · FRUniversité Paris Cité · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: As about 10% of patients with COVID-19 present sequelae, it is important to better understand the physiopathology of so-called long COVID. Method: To this aim, we recruited 29 patients hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection and, by Luminex Results: None of these markers was predictive for sequelae, except programmed T4 cell death. T4 lymphocytes from participants who later presented long COVID were more apoptotic in culture than those of sequelae-free participants at Month 12 (36.9 ± 14.7 vs. 24.2 ± 9.0%, p = 0.016). Conclusions: Our observation raises the hypothesis that T4 cell death during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection might pave the way for long COVID. Mechanistically, T4 lymphopenia might favor phenomena that could cause sequelae, including SARS-CoV-2 persistence, reactivation of other viruses, autoimmunity and immune dysregulation. In this scenario, inhibiting T cell apoptosis, for instance, by caspase inhibitors, could prevent long COVID.

Indexed as

COVID-19Post-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeApoptosisCytokinesDisease ProgressionHumansLeukocytes, MononuclearSARS-CoV-2Cytokineshelper T lymphocyteimmune activationpost-acute COVID-19 syndromeprogrammed cell deathSARS-CoV-2 infection sequelae

Identifiers

PMID38235145
PMCPMC10791767
OpenAlexW4390571164

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.