Association between Circulating Amino Acids and COVID-19 Severity.

Area of Science:

• Metabolomics
• Biochemistry
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• COVID-19 symptom severity varies widely.
• Previous metabolomic studies show inconsistent associations between individual amino acids and COVID-19 severity.
• Amino acid profiles may offer insights into disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the association between circulating amino acid concentrations and COVID-19 symptom severity.
• Assess the predictive ability of amino acid levels for adverse outcomes like ICU admission or death.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed 736 COVID-19 positive participants from the Biobanque Québécoise COVID-19 cohort.
• Assessed symptom severity using World Health Organization criteria.
• Measured circulating amino acids via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).

Main Results:

• 16 out of 20 tested amino acids significantly associated with COVID-19 severity.
• Phenylalanine (positive) and cysteine (inverse) showed strongest associations, independent of age, sex, and BMI.
• Phenylalanine demonstrated fair predictive ability for adverse outcomes.
• A multivariate model combining amino acids and clinical data achieved 90% accuracy in predicting adverse outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Severe COVID-19 is characterized by an altered circulating amino acid profile compared to mild/moderate cases.
• Specific amino acids, like phenylalanine and cysteine, are key indicators of disease severity.
• Amino acid profiling holds potential for predicting severe COVID-19 and adverse outcomes.