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Mapping the Serum Proteome of COVID-19 Patients; Guidance for Severity Assessment
Estefanía Nuñez1,2, Irene Orera3, Lorena Carmona-Rodríguez4
1CIBER de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Insights
A deep proteome analysis identified 53 serum proteins reflecting COVID-19 severity and progression. These COVID-19 biomarkers normalized 100 days post-hospitalization, aiding patient assessment and follow-up.
Area of Science:
- Proteomics
- Infectious Diseases
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to a global pandemic with significant health and economic impacts.
- Understanding SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms, replication, and host responses remains crucial for effective patient care.
- Proteomics offers a powerful approach to investigate complex biological processes in infectious diseases like COVID-19.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a deep proteome analysis of serum samples from COVID-19 patients.
- To identify serum proteins that reflect disease dynamics across different age groups.
- To establish a protein panel for assessing COVID-19 severity and monitoring patient recovery.
Main Methods:
- Deep proteome analysis of serum from 72 COVID-19 patients.
- Correlation of protein levels with disease severity and age.
- Validation of candidate proteins using targeted proteomics in an independent cohort of 84 patients.
Main Results:
- A panel of 53 proteins involved in inflammation, coagulation, immune response, and tissue injury was identified and correlated with COVID-19 severity.
- Eighteen key protein candidates were validated in an independent cohort.
- All identified protein alterations normalized approximately 100 days after hospital discharge.
Conclusions:
- The identified protein panel serves as a reliable biomarker for COVID-19 progression and severity grading.
- These proteins can aid in the clinical stratification and follow-up of COVID-19 patients.
- Proteomic analysis provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying COVID-19.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), whose outbreak in 2019 led to an ongoing pandemic with devastating consequences for the global economy and human health. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 has affected more than 481 million people worldwide, with 6 million confirmed deaths. The joint efforts of the scientific community have undoubtedly increased the pace of production of COVID-19 vaccines, but there is still so much uncharted ground to cover regarding the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, replication and host response. These issues can be approached by proteomics with unprecedented capacity paving the way for the development of more efficient strategies for patient care. In this study, we present a deep proteome analysis that has been performed on a cohort of 72 COVID-19 patients aiming to identify serum proteins assessing the dynamics of the disease at different age ranges. A panel of 53 proteins that participate in several functions such as acute-phase response and inflammation, blood coagulation, cell adhesion, complement cascade, endocytosis, immune response, oxidative stress and tissue injury, have been correlated with patient severity, suggesting a molecular basis for their clinical stratification. Eighteen protein candidates were further validated by targeted proteomics in an independent cohort of 84 patients including a group of individuals that had satisfactorily resolved SARS-CoV-2 infection. Remarkably, all protein alterations were normalized 100 days after leaving the hospital, which further supports the reliability of the selected proteins as hallmarks of COVID-19 progression and grading. The optimized protein panel may prove its value for optimal severity assessment as well as in the follow up of COVID-19 patients.
