Covid Immune Response Spike Persistence Test
Covid Immune Response Spike Persistence Test
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Persistent spike protein (or the spike S1 subunit) is thought to be one possible contributor to Long Covid and post Covid syndromes. Evidence suggests that the S1 spike protein subunit persists in the body even in the absence of other viral components, meaning that it may remain after the virus has stopped actively replicating.
Persistent spike S1 subunit could be a trigger for processes like inflammation, autoimmunity and clotting, or the mitochondrial pathogen response or cell danger response.
S1 subunit persistence can be investigated by testing for antibodies against different viral components. In this test the blood is tested for antibodies against both the spike S1 subunit and nucleocapsid (one of the “shell” proteins of the virus). If antibodies against the spike S1 subunit are high and nucleocapsid antibodies are either low or not detected, it can suggest the persistence of spike protein without actively replicating virus.