Neutralising | Severe /critical COVID-19 | |||
n (%) | OR (95% CI) | P value | ||
Anti-IFN-α2 | No (n=47) | 1 (2) | 15.3 (2.1 to 190.3) | 0.013 |
Yes (n=16) | 4 (25) | |||
Anti-IFN-β | No (n=51) | 3 (6) | 3.2 (0.5 to 17.0) | 0.239 |
Yes (n=12) | 2 (17) | |||
Anti-IFN-ω | No (n=50) | 1 (2) | 21.8 (2.8 to 269.5) | 0.005 |
Yes (n=13) | 4 (31) | |||
Anti-IFN-α2 and anti-IFN-β | No (n=58) | 3 (5) | 12.2 (1.6 to 75.4) | 0.046 |
Yes (n=5) | 2 (40) | |||
Anti-IFN-β and anti-IFN-ω | No (n=57) | 3 (5) | 9.0 (1.2 to 52.2) | 0.067 |
Yes (n=6) | 2 (33) | |||
Anti-IFN-α2 and anti-IFN-ω | No (n=58) | 1 (2) | 228.0 (11.2 to 2726) | <10-4 |
Yes (n=5) | 4 (80) |
Serum samples carrying anti-IFN-α AAbs as detected by ELISA were assessed for their neutralisation capacity against 102 pg/mL IFN-α and IFN-ω and 104 pg/mL IFN-β using a luciferase assay. Patients tested for anti-IFN-I activity more than 6 months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and/or lost to follow-up on May 10 2021 were excluded from the analysis.
The numbers and proportion of patients with severe or critical COVID-19 pneumonia are shown for each neutralising IFN-I subgroups.
P values were calculated using the Fisher’s exact test.
anti-IFN-α AAbs, anti-interferon-alpha autoantibodies; IFN, interferon; n, number of patients; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.