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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advanced Integrated Model for Sepsis-Induced Myopathy and Single-Cell Metabolic Analysis
Published on: June 14, 2024
COVID-19: A complex disease with a unique metabolic signature
Veronica Ghini1,2, Walter Vieri1,3, Tommaso Celli4
1Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino Florence, Italy.
None:
Plasma of COVID-19 patients contains a strong metabolomic/lipoproteomic signature, revealed by the NMR analysis of a cohort of >500 patients sampled during various waves of COVID-19 infection, corresponding to the spread of different variants, and having different vaccination status. This composite signature highlights common traits of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The most dysregulated molecules display concentration trends that scale with disease severity and might serve as prognostic markers for fatal events. Metabolomics evidence is then used as input data for a sex-specific multi-organ metabolic model. This reconstruction provides a comprehensive view of the impact of COVID-19 on the entire human metabolism. The human (male and female) metabolic network is strongly impacted by the disease to an extent dictated by its severity. A marked metabolic reprogramming at the level of many organs indicates an increase in the generic energetic demand of the organism following infection. Sex-specific modulation of immune response is also suggested.
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