Residual lung abnormalities were consistent with elevated epithelial injury biomarkers, profibrotic signaling<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
THURSDAY, Feb. 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Elevated epithelial injury biomarkers and profibrotic signaling are seen in association with residual lung abnormalities (RLA) on follow-up computed tomography (CT) following recovery from acute COVID-19, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in eBioMedicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Iain Stewart, Ph.D., from Imperial College London, and colleagues examined whether RLA is associated with epithelial lung injury in a study involving 957 people hospitalized with acute COVID-19 infection. Plasma was sampled at five months posthospitalization.<\/p>\n Of the 957 participants, 846 had no CT (12.2 percent were considered at risk, defined by percent predicted diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide <80 percent and\/or abnormal chest X-ray) and 111 had follow-up CT (85 [76.6 percent] had RLA \u226510 percent). Compared with those at low risk, people with a high risk for RLA had significant elevation in all epithelial injury biomarkers. In people with RLA \u226510 percent, Krebs von den Lungen-6 and matrix metalloproteinase-7 were significantly higher than among those with RLA <10 percent. There were associations for surfactant protein-D and surfactant protein-A with percent involvement of reticulation (3.22 and 3.03 percent, respectively).<\/p>\n “These results highlight the possibility of using a blood test to identify people at increased risk of chronic lung disease following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection,” coauthor Gisli Jenkins, M.B.B.S., also from Imperial College London, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n