COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Therapy Decreases Inflammatory Cytokines: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors

• Feben Habtehyimer, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Xianming Zhu, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Andrew D Redd, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Kelly A. Gebo, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Alison G. Abraham, Department of Epidemiology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus , Aurora, Colorado, USA.
• Eshan U. Patel, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Oliver Laeyendecker, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Thomas J. Gniadek, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Northshore University Health System , Evanston, Illinois, USA.
• Reinaldo E. Fernandez, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Owen R. Baker, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Malathi Ram, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Edward R. Cachay, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Diego , San Diego, California, USA.
• Judith S. Currier, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California, USA.
• Yuriko Fukuta, Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, Texas, USA.
• Jonathan M. Gerber, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
• Sonya L. Heath, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
• Barry Meisenberg, Department of Medicine and Research Institute of Luminis Health , Annapolis, Maryland, USA.
• Moises A. Huaman, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
• Adam C. Levine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
• Aarthi Shenoy, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center , Washington, DC, USA.
• Shweta Anjan, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine , Miami, Florida, USA.
• Janis E. Blair, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic Hospital , Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
• Daniel Cruser, Department of Pathology, Nuvance Health Vassar Brothers Medical Center , Poughkeepsie, New York, USA.
• Donald N. Forthal, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Irvine , Irvine, California, USA.
• Laura L. Hammitt, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Seble Kassaye, Division of Infectious Diseases, Georgetown University Medical Center , Washington, DC, USA.
• Giselle S. Mosnaim, Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Northshore University Health System , Evanston, Illinois, USA.
• Bela Patel, Department of Medicine, Divisions of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center , Houston, Texas, USA.
• James H. Paxton, Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University , Detroit, Michigan, USA.
• Jay S. Raval, Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
• Catherine G. Sutcliffe, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Matthew Abinante, Ascada Research , Fullerton, California, USA.
• Kevin S. Oei, Ascada Research , Fullerton, California, USA.
• Valerie Cluzet, Department of Infectious Disease, Nuvance Health Vassar Brothers Medical Center , Poughkeepsie, New York, USA.
• Marie Elena Cordisco, Nuvance Health Danbury Hospital , Danbury, Connecticut, USA.
• Benjamin Greenblatt, Nuvance Health Norwalk Hospital , Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.
• William Rausch, Nuvance Health Danbury Hospital , Danbury, Connecticut, USA.
• David Shade, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Amy L. Gawad, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Sabra L. Klein, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Andrew Pekosz, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Shmuel Shoham, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Arturo Casadevall, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Evan M. Bloch, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Daniel Hanley, Department of Neurology, Brain Injury Outcomes Division, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Aaron AR Tobian, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• David J. Sullivan, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-11-2024

Abstract

This study examined the role that cytokines may have played in the beneficial outcomes found when outpatient individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 were transfused with COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) early in their infection. We found that the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 decreased significantly faster in patients treated early with CCP. Participants with COVID-19 treated with CCP later in the infection did not have the same effect. This decrease in IL-6 levels after early CCP treatment suggests a possible role of inflammation in COVID-19 progression. The evidence of IL-6 involvement brings insight into the possible mechanisms involved in CCP treatment mitigating SARS-CoV-2 severity.

Recommended Citation

Habtehyimer F, Zhu X, Redd AD, Gebo KA, Abraham AG, Patel EU, Laeyendecker O, Gniadek TJ, Fernandez RE, Baker OR, Ram M, Cachay ER, Currier JS, Fukuta Y, Gerber JM, Heath SL, Meisenberg B, Huaman MA, Levine AC, Shenoy A, Anjan S, Blair JE, Cruser D, Forthal DN, Hammitt LL, Kassaye S, Mosnaim GS, Patel B, Paxton JH, Raval JS, Sutcliffe CG, Abinante M, Oei KS, Cluzet V, Cordisco ME, Greenblatt B, Rausch W, Shade D, Gawad AL, Klein SL, Pekosz A, Shoham S, Casadevall A, Bloch EM, Hanley D, Tobian AAR, Sullivan DJ. COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy decreases inflammatory cytokines: a randomized controlled trial. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Jan 11;12(1):e0328623. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03286-23. Epub 2023 Nov 27. PMID: 38009954; PMCID: PMC10783116.