Dr McCrae discusses a study he presented at ASH 2025, which produced evidence that IgG antibodies from COVID-19 patients can actively drive endothelial activation, barrier disruption, and procoagulant behavior, rather than these effects being solely secondary to inflammation or viral injury. 

The findings have the potential to advance understanding of the endothelial mechanisms underlying thrombosis in acute COVID-19.

By implicating antibody-mediated endothelial dysfunction, the study supports the concept of COVID-19 as, at least in part, an autoimmune or immune-complex–driven vascular disease. This framework may also be relevant to other viral syndromes with thrombotic or vascular complications.

Dr McCrae notes that the work has the potential to shift both research focus and clinical approaches toward immune-mediated vascular injury as a key driver of COVID-19 related complications.