Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39849114›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2025

Distinct pro-inflammatory/pro-angiogenetic signatures distinguish children with Long COVID from controls.

Danilo Buonsenso, Nicola Cotugno, Donato Amodio, Giuseppe Rubens Pascucci, Gabriele Di Sante, Chiara Pighi, Elena Morrocchi, Alessandro Pucci, Giulio Olivieri, Nicole Colantoni and 11 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Danilo Buonsenso *Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy. danilobuonsenso@gmail.com.
Nicola Cotugno *Clinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Donato AmodioClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Giuseppe Rubens PascucciClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Gabriele Di SanteDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Human, Clinical and Forensic Anatomy, University of Perugia, Rome, Italy.
Chiara PighiClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Elena MorrocchiClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro PucciClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Giulio OlivieriClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Nicole ColantoniClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Lorenza RomaniInfectious Disease Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Arianna RotiliClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Alessia NeriClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Rosa MorelloDepartment of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Michela SaliDepartment of Biotechnological, Basic, Intensivological and Perioperatory Sciences-Section of Microbiology, Università Cattolica del S Cuore, Rome, 00168, Italy.
Adriana TremouletDepartment of Pediatrics & Kawasaki Disease Research Center, University of California San Diego (UCSD), San Diego, CA, USA.
Francesca RaffaelliDepartment of Laboratory and Infectivology Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, 00168, Italy.
Giuseppe ZampinoDepartment of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Paolo RossiDepartment of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
Piero ValentiniDepartment of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Paolo PalmaClinical Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRecent proteomic studies have documented that Long COVID in adults is characterized by a pro-inflammatory signature with thromboinflammation. However, if similar events happen also in children with Long COVID has never been investigated.

methodsWe performed an extensive protein analysis of blood plasma from pediatric patients younger than 19 years of age Long COVID and a control group of children with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and healthy controls resulted similar for sex distribution and age. Children were classified as Long COVID if symptoms persisted for at least 8 weeks since the initial infection, negatively impacted daily life and could not be explained otherwise.

results112 children were included in the study, including 34 children fulfilling clinical criteria of Long COVID, 32 acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, 27 MIS-C and 19 healthy controls. Compared with controls, pediatric Long COVID was characterized by higher expression of the proinflammatory and pro-angiogenetic set of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, TNFSF11, OSM, STAMBP1a. A Machine Learning model based on proteomic profile was able to identify LC with an accuracy of 0.93, specificity of 0.86 and sensitivity of 0.97.

conclusionsPediatric Long COVID patients have a well distinct blood protein signature marked by increased ongoing general and endothelial inflammation, similarly as happens in adults. IMPACT: Pediatric Long COVID has a distinct blood protein signature marked by increased ongoing general and endothelial inflammation. This is the first study studying and documenting proinflammatory profile in blood samples of children with long COVID. Long COVID was characterized by higher expression of the proinflammatory and pro-angiogenetic set of chemokines CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL8, TNFSF11, OSM, STAMBP1a. A proteomic profile was able to identify Long COVID with an accuracy of 0.93, specificity of 0.86 and sensitivity of 0.97. These findings may inform development of future diagnostic tests.

Indexed as

COVID-19InflammationAdolescentBiomarkersCase-Control StudiesChemokinesChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMachine LearningMaleProteomicsSARS-CoV-2Systemic Inflammatory Response SyndromeBiomarkersChemokines

Identifiers

PMID39849114

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.