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TMT Sample Preparation for Proteomics Facility Submission and Subsequent Data Analysis
Published on: June 8, 2020
Alterations in plasma proteome during acute COVID-19 and recovery
Maciej Suski1, Agnieszka Olszanecka2,3, Aneta Stachowicz4
1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 16 Grzegorzecka str, Kraków, 31 531, Poland. maciej.suski@uj.edu.pl.
Insights
This study reveals significant plasma protein changes in COVID-19 patients, impacting immune and clotting pathways. These alterations may predict long-term cardiovascular risks in individuals recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Area of Science:
- Proteomics
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Severe COVID-19 can cause cardiovascular injuries, with unclear mechanisms.
- Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for managing long COVID, where clotting and endothelial issues are key.
- Circulatory system impairment is a significant concern in post-COVID-19 sequelae.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate temporal changes in plasma proteins during and after COVID-19 hospitalization.
- To identify proteins and pathways affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- To explore potential biomarkers for long-term cardiovascular complications.
Main Methods:
- Targeted proteomic analysis using the PQ500 panel and SureQuant acquisition.
- Analysis of plasma protein changes in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization.
- Comparison of protein profiles six months after recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Main Results:
- Identified 167 differentially regulated proteins between hospitalization and follow-up.
- Affected pathways include immune activation, complement and coagulation cascades, and platelet activation.
- Temporal changes in acute phase proteins correlate with clinical characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Targeted proteomic analysis shows substantial plasma protein alterations in COVID-19 patients.
- SARS-CoV-2 infection induces a wide range of functional pathway changes.
- Acute phase proteins, clotting regulators, and lipoproteins may predict cardiovascular events in COVID-19 convalescents.
Background:
The severe course of COVID-19 causes cardiovascular injuries, although the mechanisms involved are still not fully recognized, linked, and understood. Their characterization is of great importance with the establishment of the conception of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, referred to as long COVID, where blood clotting and endothelial abnormalities are believed to be the key pathomechanisms driving circulatory system impairment.
Methods:
The presented study investigates temporal changes in plasma proteins in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and six months after recovery by targeted SureQuant acquisition using PQ500 panel.
Results:
In total, we identified 167 proteins that were differentially regulated between follow-up and hospitalization, which functionally aggregated into immune system activation, complement and coagulation cascades, interleukins signalling, platelet activation, and extracellular matrix organization. Furthermore, we found that temporal quantitative changes in acute phase proteins correlate with selected clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients.
Conclusions:
In-depth targeted proteome investigation evidenced substantial changes in plasma protein composition of patients during and recovering from COVID-19, evidencing a wide range of functional pathways induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, we show that a subset of acute phase proteins, clotting cascade regulators and lipoproteins could have clinical value as potential predictors of long-term cardiovascular events in COVID-19 convalescents.
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