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Immunohematologic Biomarkers in COVID-19: Insights into Pathogenesis, Prognosis, and Prevention
David R Sweet1, Michael L Freeman2, David A Zidar3,4,5
1Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH.
Insights
Biomarker discovery in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) helps predict patient outcomes and understand immune responses. This research identifies key factors for better treatment strategies and future pandemic preparedness.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) significantly impacted global health and healthcare systems.
- Frontline healthcare workers and researchers have made substantial efforts to manage the pandemic.
- Understanding disease progression and immune response is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review biomarker discovery efforts for predicting COVID-19 patient outcomes.
- To identify mechanisms underlying adverse outcomes in COVID-19.
- To highlight the legacy of prognostic biomarkers for studying immune responses.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies on soluble factors, cell types, and clinical parameters predicting COVID-19 disease course.
- Analysis of identified prognostic biomarkers and their role in therapeutic target identification.
- Examination of research on genetic and acquired features influencing immunologic outcomes.
Main Results:
- Prognostic biomarkers have been identified, some guiding therapeutic interventions in clinical trials.
- COVID-19 research revealed significant heterogeneity in immunologic systems and responses.
- Accelerated target identification and validation were driven by pandemic urgency.
Conclusions:
- Biomarker discovery in COVID-19 provides insights into immune system overactivity and ineffectiveness.
- Understanding diverse immunologic responses is key to improving preparedness for future pandemics.
- This knowledge can inform preventive strategies for other immunologic diseases.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had profound effects on the health of individuals and on healthcare systems worldwide. While healthcare workers on the frontlines have fought to quell multiple waves of infection, the efforts of the larger research community have changed the arch of this pandemic as well. This review will focus on biomarker discovery and other efforts to identify features that predict outcomes, and in so doing, identify possible effector and passenger mechanisms of adverse outcomes. Identifying measurable soluble factors, cell-types, and clinical parameters that predict a patient's disease course will have a legacy for the study of immunologic responses, especially stimuli, which induce an overactive, yet ineffectual immune system. As prognostic biomarkers were identified, some have served to represent pathways of therapeutic interest in clinical trials. The pandemic conditions have created urgency for accelerated target identification and validation. Collectively, these COVID-19 studies of biomarkers, disease outcomes, and therapeutic efficacy have revealed that immunologic systems and responses to stimuli are more heterogeneous than previously assumed. Understanding the genetic and acquired features that mediate divergent immunologic outcomes in response to this global exposure is ongoing and will ultimately improve our preparedness for future pandemics, as well as impact preventive approaches to other immunologic diseases.
