Association Between S100b Levels and COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Control Study

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Immunology
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Extracellular S100b protein interacts with the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), a key molecule on alveolar type I cells.
• RAGE is a multiligand receptor belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily, highly expressed in pulmonary tissue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between serum S100b levels and COVID-19 disease severity upon emergency department admission.
• To evaluate S100b as a potential biomarker for COVID-19 diagnosis and severity prediction.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 64 COVID-19 pneumonia patients (34 mild, 30 severe) and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled.
• Serum S100b levels were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) on blood samples.

Main Results:

• Serum S100b levels were significantly higher in both mild and severe COVID-19 groups compared to healthy controls (p=0.036 and p=0.028).
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed a significant area under the curve (AUC) for serum S100b in COVID-19 patients (AUC=0.663, p=0.014).
• Serum S100b concentration of 151.7 ng/ml demonstrated 79.3% sensitivity and 51.7% specificity for COVID-19 diagnosis (p=0.014).

Conclusions:

• Serum S100b protein levels can serve as a valuable clinical marker for diagnosing COVID-19 patients.
• While not distinguishing between different COVID-19 stages, serum S100b, combined with other markers, can reliably predict clinical severity.