Fernández-de-Las-Peñas César, Díaz-Gil Gema, Gil-Crujera Antonio, Gómez-Sánchez Stella M, Ambite-Quesada Silvia, Franco-Moreno Anabel, Ryan-Murua Pablo, Torres-Macho Juan, Pellicer-Valero Oscar J, Arendt-Nielsen Lars, Giordano Rocco
Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), 28922 Alcorcón, Spain.
Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Sensory Motor Interaction (SMI), Department of Health Science and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
Biomedicines. 2024 Jul 25;12(8):1662. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12081662.
One of theories explaining the development of long-lasting symptoms after an acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection include changes in the methylation pattern of the host. The current study aimed to investigate whether DNA methylation levels associated with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 () promoter are different when comparing individuals previously hospitalized due to COVID-19 who then developed long-lasting post-COVID pain with those previously hospitalized due to COVID-19 who did not develop post-COVID-19 pain symptoms. Non-stimulated saliva samples were obtained from a cohort of 279 (mean age: 56.5, SD: 13.0 years old, 51.5% male) COVID-19 survivors who needed hospitalization. Clinical data were collected from hospital medical records. Participants were asked to disclose pain symptoms developed during the first three months after hospital admission due to COVID-19 and persisting at the time of the interview. Methylations of five CpG dinucleotides in the promoter were quantified (as percentages). Participants were evaluated up to 17.8 (SD: 5.3) months after hospitalization. Thus, 39.1% of patients exhibited post-COVID-19 pain. Most patients (77.05%) in the cohort developed localized post-COVID-19 pain. Headache and pain in the lower extremity were experienced by 29.4% of the patients. Seven patients received a post-infection diagnosis of fibromyalgia based on the presence of widespread pain characteristics (11.6%) and other associated symptoms. No significant differences in methylation percentages at any CpG location of the promoter were identified when comparing individuals with and without post-COVID-19 pain. The current study did not observe differences in methylation levels of the promoter depending on the presence or absence of long-lasting post-COVID-19 pain symptoms in individuals who needed hospitalization due to COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic.
解释新型严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染后长期症状出现的理论之一包括宿主甲基化模式的变化。本研究旨在比较因新冠肺炎住院后出现长期新冠后疼痛的个体与因新冠肺炎住院但未出现新冠后疼痛症状的个体，研究血管紧张素转换酶2（ACE2）启动子相关的DNA甲基化水平是否存在差异。从279名（平均年龄：56.5岁，标准差：13.0岁，51.5%为男性）需要住院治疗的新冠肺炎幸存者队列中获取未受刺激的唾液样本。临床数据从医院病历中收集。参与者被要求披露因新冠肺炎住院后前三个月出现且在访谈时仍持续的疼痛症状。对ACE2启动子中五个CpG二核苷酸的甲基化进行定量（以百分比表示）。参与者在住院后长达17.8（标准差：5.3）个月时接受评估。因此，39.1%的患者出现了新冠后疼痛。该队列中的大多数患者（77.05%）出现了局部新冠后疼痛。29.4%的患者经历了头痛和下肢疼痛。7名患者根据广泛疼痛特征（11.6%）和其他相关症状在感染后被诊断为纤维肌痛。在比较有和没有新冠后疼痛的个体时，未发现ACE2启动子任何CpG位点的甲基化百分比有显著差异。在大流行第一波期间因新冠肺炎需要住院的个体中，本研究未观察到根据是否存在长期新冠后疼痛症状，ACE2启动子甲基化水平存在差异。
