Characterization of the Immunometabolic Signature in Long COVID-19.

NCT ID: NCT05758480

Last Updated: 2026-02-10

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 62 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-05-24
• Study Completion Date: 2025-11-03

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this study is to identify immunometabolic signatures associated with Long COVID in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

Detailed Description

The mechanisms underlying Long COVID remain poorly understood. Among the symptoms most frequently reported by patients with long COVID, some (fatigue, neurocognitive disorders, muscular weakness) are similar to those reported by patients with innate or acquired abnormalities in energy metabolism, suggesting that metabolic changes could play a role in the disease. On the other hand, other studies have shown that COVID-19 induces an immune dysregulation that could persist after recovery.

The hypothesis of this study is that there are subtle but detectable immunometabolic changes in plasma and PBMC of patients with long COVID. The identification of these specific signatures would help to better understand the physiopathology of this disease and to identify possible therapeutic strategies .

The primary objective of this study is to identify immunometabolic signatures in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with long COVID, as compared to patients who recovered from COVID-19 without prolonged symptoms.

Conditions

Long COVID

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Patients with Long COVID

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Blood sample (at inclusion and 6 months later)

Intervention Type: BIOLOGICAL

(56ml of blood, 8 tubes) 3 heparin, 1 EDTA , 2 SST, 2 CPT

Patient questionnaires (at inclusion and 6 months later)

Intervention Type: OTHER

(4 questionnaires) Symptoms in the last week, Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and Nijmegen.

COVID-19 recovered patients (Control)

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Blood sample (at inclusion and 6 months later)

Intervention Type: BIOLOGICAL

(56ml of blood, 8 tubes) 3 heparin, 1 EDTA , 2 SST, 2 CPT

Patient questionnaires (at inclusion and 6 months later)

Intervention Type: OTHER

(4 questionnaires) Symptoms in the last week, Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and Nijmegen.

Interventions

Blood sample (at inclusion and 6 months later)

(56ml of blood, 8 tubes) 3 heparin, 1 EDTA , 2 SST, 2 CPT

Intervention Type: BIOLOGICAL

Patient questionnaires (at inclusion and 6 months later)

(4 questionnaires) Symptoms in the last week, Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and Nijmegen.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• For all patients:

• Age > 18 years
• Symptomatic COVID-19 diagnosed after 01JAN2021, confirmed by RT-PCR or Antigen test
• Last SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed more than 12 weeks before inclusion
• Patient covered by the French health insurance
• Signature of the informed consent
• For patient with Long COVID :

• At least one of the following symptoms during the week preceding inclusion: abnormal fatigue, dyspnoea sine materia, abnormal pain (chest, joint, muscle, headache), unusual neurocognitive disorders (concentration disorders, "brain fog", language/memory disorders, paraesthesia)
• Absence of Return to Usual Health after SARS-CoV-2 infection (patient declaration)
• Absence of alternative diagnosis for the symptoms
• For COVID-19 recovered patient (Control) :

• None of the following symptoms in the 3 week before inclusion: abnormal fatigue, dyspnoea sine materia, abnormal pain (chest, joint, muscle, headache), unusual neurocognitive disorders (concentration disorders, "brain fog", language/memory disorders, paraesthesia)
• Return to Usual Health after SARS-CoV-2 infection (patient declaration)

Exclusion Criteria

• History of severe COVID-19 (Hospitalization)
• Symptoms caused by sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (in particular, persistence of lung parenchymal abnormalities : pulmonary fibrosis, persistent alveolitis on CT-Scan)
• Significant Depression or anxiety symptoms, as assessed by a > 10 score on the A or D items of the Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD)
• Presence of one of the following diseases:

• Inborn errors of metabolism
• estimated Glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min (MDRD)
• Autoimmune disease
• Immunosuppressive treatment or immune deficiency
• Symptomatic heart failure
• Respiratory failure (COPD stage ≥ 3 or oxygen therapy)
• Solid cancer or active blood disease
• Severe malnutrition (albumin < 30 g/L or weight loss ≥10% in 6 months)
• Obesity with BMI ≥ 35 kg/m²
• Diabetes not controlled by diet alone
• Pregnant, breastfeeding or parturient women
• Deprivation of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
• Mandatory Psychiatric Care
• Protected by decision of law
• Unable to express consent

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University Hospital, Angers

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Vincent DUBEE, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Angers University Hospital

Valérie DUBUS, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Angers University Hospital

Locations

Angers University Hospital

Angers, , France

Countries

France

Other Identifiers

LoCo-ImMet

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id