Analysis of Plasma Proteins Involved in Inflammation, Immune Response/Complement System, and Blood Coagulation upon Admission of COVID-19 Patients to Hospital May Help to Predict the Prognosis of the Disease
Daniele Castro di Flora,
Aline Dionizio,
Heloisa Aparecida Barbosa Silva Pereira,
Thais Francini Garbieri,
Larissa Tercilia Grizzo,
Thiago José Dionisio,
Aline de Lima Leite,
Licia C. Silva-Costa,
Nathalia Rabelo Buzalaf,
Fernanda Navas Reis,
Virginia Bodelão Richini Pereira,
Deborah Maciel Cavalcanti Rosa,
Carlos Ferreira dos Santos,
Marília Afonso Rabelo Buzalaf
Affiliations
Daniele Castro di Flora
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Aline Dionizio
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Heloisa Aparecida Barbosa Silva Pereira
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Thais Francini Garbieri
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Larissa Tercilia Grizzo
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Thiago José Dionisio
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Aline de Lima Leite
Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68503, USA
Licia C. Silva-Costa
Laboratory of Neuroproteomics, Institute of Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-862, Brazil
Nathalia Rabelo Buzalaf
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Fernanda Navas Reis
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Virginia Bodelão Richini Pereira
Center of Regional Laboratories II, Adolfo Lutz Institute, Bauru 17015-110, Brazil
Deborah Maciel Cavalcanti Rosa
Therapy and Diagnosis Unit, Bauru State Hospital, Bauru 17033-360, Brazil
Carlos Ferreira dos Santos
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
Marília Afonso Rabelo Buzalaf
Department of Biological Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru 17012-901, Brazil
The development of new approaches allowing for the early assessment of COVID-19 cases that are likely to become critical and the discovery of new therapeutic targets are urgently required. In this prospective cohort study, we performed proteomic and laboratory profiling of plasma from 163 COVID-19 patients admitted to Bauru State Hospital (Brazil) between 4 May 2020 and 4 July 2020. Plasma samples were collected upon admission for routine laboratory analyses and shotgun quantitative label-free proteomics. Based on the course of the disease, the patients were divided into three groups: (a) mild (n = 76) and (b) severe (n = 56) symptoms, whose patients were discharged without or with admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), respectively, and (c) critical (n = 31), a group consisting of patients who died after admission to an ICU. Based on our data, potential therapies for COVID-19 should target proteins involved in inflammation, the immune response and complement system, and blood coagulation. Other proteins that could potentially be employed in therapies against COVID-19 but that so far have not been associated with the disease are CD5L, VDBP, A1BG, C4BPA, PGLYRP2, SERPINC1, and APOH. Targeting these proteins’ pathways might constitute potential new therapies or biomarkers of prognosis of the disease.
