In:
Frontiers in Microbiology, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 14 ( 2023-5-22)
Abstract:
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. 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. 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. 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.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1664-302X
DOI:
10.3389/fmicb.2023.1155624
DOI:
10.3389/fmicb.2023.1155624.s001
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2587354-4
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