Why we should treat COVID-19 Long-Hauler Syndromes with Convalescent
Plasma; Contained Suppressive Exosomes are likely COVID antigen-specific
Abstract
There have been numerous very disappointing results of Convalescent
Plasma Therapy (CPT) in active infections with COVID-19 virus, raises a
question of how to account for this, given the huge history of seeming
benefit of CPT in a variety of infectious diseases over more than the
past 100 years. We propose the following as a possible explanation,
based on our experimental evidence. In CPT there is a collision between
developed desirable viral resistance promoting hyper-immune antibodies
and undesirable convalescent exosomes antigen (Ag)-specifically
suppressing cellular immune responses stimulated by the prior now
recovered acute viral disease. These inhibiting exosomes, that act to
suppress Ag presenting cells and anti-COVID-19-Ag-specific effector T
cells, are appropriate to convalescence, but when given early in
infection may interfere with endogenous early developing profitable
cellular immune anti-viral responses. To account for the high incidence
of the Long Haulers post COVID patients, we postulate that these are due
to immune reactivity to Ag remnants of the virus and not residual
infection. These are postulated to held by and augmented by remnants of
highly pathogenetic neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). We propose
that CPT with its content of potential broadly COVID Ag-specific
suppressive exosomes be considered for possible effective treatment of
the COVID-19 Long Hauler Syndromes. This certainly is so compared to the
purported value of therapy with vaccines, as the diverse Ag-specific
extracellular vesicles in the convalescent plasma would be an inhibitory
influence on multiple COVID Ag-specific responses, beyond just to the
spike protein of the virus.