Stability of cytokine and immunoglobulin concentrations in the general population: prepandemic basal concentrations and intraindividual changes until the COVID-19 pandemic

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• dc.contributor.author Gasull Panadès, Magda
• dc.contributor.author Pumarega Rodríguez, José Antonio
• dc.contributor.author Aguilar, Ruth
• dc.contributor.author Campi, Laura
• dc.contributor.author Prieto-Merino, David
• dc.contributor.author Villar García, Judit
• dc.contributor.author Rius, Cristina
• dc.contributor.author Bolúmar, Francisco
• dc.contributor.author Trasande, Leonardo
• dc.contributor.author Dobaño, Carlota
• dc.contributor.author Moncunill, Gemma
• dc.contributor.author Porta Serra, Miquel
• dc.date.accessioned 2025-09-18T06:18:27Z
• dc.date.available 2025-09-18T06:18:27Z
• dc.date.issued 2025
• dc.description.abstract Background: While there is wide evidence on concentrations of cytokines in patients attending health care facilities, evidence is scant on physiological, basal concentrations of cytokines in the general population and across sociodemographic groups, as well as on their potential stability over time. Furthermore, from a public health perspective it is remarkable that no studies have analyzed intraindividual changes in such concentrations from before the COVID-19 pandemic until its outbreak. Objectives: To investigate: (a) prepandemic concentrations of cytokines and immunoglobulins to viral exposures in a general, non-institutionalized population, and their associated sociodemographic variables; (b) the intraindividual change in such concentrations between a prepandemic period (2016-17) and the initial pandemic period (2020-21); and (c) whether such change was similar in participants who in 2020-21 were SARS-CoV-2 seronegative and seropositive, and between participants who did and did not develop COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in 240 individuals from the general population of Barcelona, Spain. Thirty cytokines and 31 immunoglobulins were measured in paired serum samples collected in 2016-17 and 2020-21 in the same individuals. Results: The median value of the relative intraindividual change in cytokine concentrations between 2016 and 2020 was <15% for 29 of the 30 cytokines. A substantial number of participants had an intraindividual increase or decrease ≥15% in some cytokines. No major differences in intraindividual changes of cytokine and immunoglobulin levels between 2016 and 2020 were observed between participants who did and did not develop COVID-19. Conclusion: We provide novel information on physiological, basal ex-vivo concentrations of cytokines and immunoglobulins in a general population, which should be relevant for clinical practice and public health. Intraindividual changes in cytokines and immunoglobulins during the 4 years from 2016-17 to 2020-21 were moderate, and they did not differ between participants who in 2020-21 were SARS-CoV-2 seropositive and seronegative, nor between participants who did and did not develop COVID-19 disease. These findings are also novel and relevant for medicine and public health. In particular, the stability in the biomarkers is relevant to assess the role of the immunological and inflammatory state (measured through baseline levels of cytokines and immunoglobulins) in the development of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and COVID-19 disease, as well as in the susceptibility to other infections and pathologies.
• dc.description.sponsorship The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. The work was supported in part by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Government of Spain, co-funded by FEDER and European Union (FIS PI17/00088, FIS PI21/00052, FIS PI24/00277, and CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública-CIBERESP); CRUE-Santander Fondo Supera Covid-19 (15072020); the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona; and the Government of Catalonia (2017 SGR 439; 2021 SGR 43). GM is supported by RYC2020-029886-I/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, co-funded by European Social Fund (ESF). Development of SARS-CoV-2 reagents was partially supported by the NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) contract HHSN272201400008C. ISGlobal acknowledges support from grant CEX2023-0001290-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. IMIM and ISGlobal acknowledge support from Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
• dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
• dc.identifier.citation Gasull M, Pumarega J, Aguilar R, Campi L, Prieto-Merino D, Villar-García J, et al. Stability of cytokine and immunoglobulin concentrations in the general population: prepandemic basal concentrations and intraindividual changes until the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 2;13:1548379. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1548379
• dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1548379
• dc.identifier.issn 2296-2565
• dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71221
• dc.language.iso eng
• dc.publisher Frontiers
• dc.relation.ispartof Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 2;13:1548379
• dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/3PE/CEX2023-0001290-S
• dc.rights © 2025 Gasull, Pumarega, Aguilar, Campi, Prieto-Merino, Villar-García, Rius, Bolúmar, Trasande, Dobaño, Moncunill and Porta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
• dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• dc.subject.keyword COVID-19
• dc.subject.keyword SARS-CoV-2
• dc.subject.keyword Cytokines
• dc.subject.keyword Immunoglobulins
• dc.subject.keyword Population-based
• dc.title Stability of cytokine and immunoglobulin concentrations in the general population: prepandemic basal concentrations and intraindividual changes until the COVID-19 pandemic
• dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
• dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion