Intracellular peptides in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients
Luiz Felipe Martucci,
Rosangela A.S. Eichler,
Renée N.O. Silva,
Tiago J. Costa,
Rita C. Tostes,
Geraldo F. Busatto,
Marilia C.L. Seelaender,
Alberto J.S. Duarte,
Heraldo P. Souza,
Emer S. Ferro
Affiliations
Luiz Felipe Martucci
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Rosangela A.S. Eichler
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Renée N.O. Silva
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Tiago J. Costa
Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, Brazil
Rita C. Tostes
Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, Brazil
Geraldo F. Busatto
Department of Psichiatry, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil; Corresponding author
Marilia C.L. Seelaender
Department of Surgery, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil
Alberto J.S. Duarte
Department of Patology, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil
Heraldo P. Souza
Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil
Emer S. Ferro
Department of Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil; Department of Patology, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil; Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School and Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, 01246-903 SP, Brazil; Corresponding author
Summary: Intracellular peptides (InPeps) generated by the orchestrated action of the proteasome and intracellular peptidases have biological and pharmacological significance. Here, human plasma relative concentration of specific InPeps was compared between 175 patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and 45 SARS-CoV-2 non-infected patients; 2,466 unique peptides were identified, of which 67% were InPeps. The results revealed differences of a specific group of peptides in human plasma comparing non-infected individuals to patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, following the results of the semi-quantitative analyses by isotope-labeled electrospray mass spectrometry. The protein-protein interactions networks enriched pathways, drawn by genes encoding the proteins from which the peptides originated, revealed the presence of the coronavirus disease/COVID-19 network solely in the group of patients fatally infected by SARS-CoV-2. Thus, modulation of the relative plasma levels of specific InPeps could be employed as a predictive tool for disease outcome.
