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Expression profile of HERVs and inflammatory mediators detected in nasal mucosa as a predictive biomarker of COVID-19 severity.
- Source :
-
Frontiers in microbiology [Front Microbiol] 2023 May 22; Vol. 14, pp. 1155624. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 22 (Print Publication: 2023). - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Introduction: Our research group and others demonstrated the implication of the human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in SARS-CoV-2 infection and their association with disease progression, suggesting HERVs as contributing factors in COVID-19 immunopathology. To identify early predictive biomarkers of the COVID-19 severity, we analyzed the expression of HERVs and inflammatory mediators in SARS-CoV-2-positive and -negative nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs with respect to biochemical parameters and clinical outcome.<br />Methods: Residuals of swab samples (20 SARS-CoV-2-negative and 43 SARS-CoV-2-positive) were collected during the first wave of the pandemic and expression levels of HERVs and inflammatory mediators were analyzed by qRT-Real time PCR.<br />Results: The results obtained show that infection with SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a general increase in the expression of HERVs and mediators of the immune response. In particular, SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased expression of HERV-K and HERV-W, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α, MCP-1, INF-γ, TLR-3, and TLR-7, while lower levels of IL-10, IFN-α, IFN-β, and TLR-4 were found in individuals who underwent hospitalization. Moreover, higher expression of HERV-W, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-α, and IFN-β reflected the respiratory outcome of patients during hospitalization. Interestingly, a machine learning model was able to classify hospitalized vs not hospitalized patients with good accuracy based on the expression levels of HERV-K, HERV-W, IL-6, TNF-a, TLR-3, TLR-7, and the N gene of SARS-CoV-2. These latest biomarkers also correlated with parameters of coagulation and inflammation.<br />Discussion: Overall, the present results suggest HERVs as contributing elements in COVID-19 and early genomic biomarkers to predict COVID-19 severity and disease outcome.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer TPH declared a past collaboration with the author ClM to the handling editor.<br /> (Copyright © 2023 Petrone, Fanelli, Giudice, Toschi, Conti, Maracchioni, Iannetta, Resta, Cipriani, Miele, Amati, Andreoni, Sarmati, Rogliani, Novelli, Garaci, Rasi, Sinibaldi-Vallebona, Minutolo, Matteucci, Balestrieri and Grelli.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1664-302X
- Volume :
- 14
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Frontiers in microbiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37283924
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1155624