Epithelial Injury Biomarkers Linked to Lung Abnormalities After COVID-19

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.

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.

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 ≥10 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 ≥10 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).

“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.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text