Severe COVID-19 Patients Show an Increase in Soluble TNFR1 and ADAM17, with a Relationship to Mortality

Abstract

Overproduction of inflammatory cytokines is a keystone event in COVID-19 pathogenesis; TNF and its receptors (TNFR1 and TNFR2) are critical pro-inflammatory molecules. ADAM17 releases the soluble (sol) forms of TNF, TNFR1, and TNFR2. This study evaluated TNF, TNFRs, and ADAM17 at the protein, transcriptional, and gene levels in COVID-19 patients with different levels of disease severity. In total, 102 patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe condition groups. A group of healthy donors (HD; n = 25) was included. Our data showed that solTNFR1 and solTNFR2 were elevated among the COVID-19 patients (p p p p = 0.006, Rho = −0.33). The solADAM17 level was higher in severe as compared to mild disease conditions (p p TNFRSF1A:rs767455 and a severe degree of disease was suggested. These data suggest that solTNFR1 and solADAM17 are increased in severe conditions. solTNFR1 should be considered a potential target in the development of new therapeutic options.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• solTNF
• solTNFR1
• solTNFR2
• ADAM17
• severity