MicroRNAs are enriched at COVID-19 genomic risk regions, and their blood levels correlate with the COVID-19 prognosis of cancer patients infected by SARS-CoV-2

• Published in: Molecular cancer Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 235 - 17
• Main Authors: Anfossi, Simone, Darbaniyan, Faezeh, Quinlan, Joseph, Calin, Steliana, Shimizu, Masayoshi, Chen, Meng, Rausseo, Paola, Winters, Michael, Bogatenkova, Elena, Do, Kim-Anh, Martinez, Ivan, Li, Ziyi, Antal, Loredana, Olariu, Tudor Rares, Wistuba, Ignacio, Calin, George A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 21.10.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; B cells; Cancer; Cancer patients; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - genetics; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - virology; Female; Genomics; Humans; Male; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs - blood; MicroRNAs - genetics; Middle Aged; MiRNAs; Neoplasms - blood; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - virology; Plasma biomarkers; Prognosis; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; T cells; Vaccination; Romania; COVID-19; MiRNAs; SARS-CoV-2; Plasma biomarkers; Genomics; Cancer
• ISSN: 1476-4598; 1476-4598
• DOI: 10.1186/s12943-024-02094-9

Cancer patients are more susceptible to an aggressive course of COVID-19. Developing biomarkers identifying cancer patients at high risk of COVID-19-related death could help determine who needs early clinical intervention. The miRNAs hosted in the genomic regions associated with the risk of aggressive COVID-19 could represent potential biomarkers for clinical outcomes. Plasma samples were collected at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from cancer patients (N = 128) affected by COVID-19. Serum samples were collected from vaccinated healthy individuals (n = 23) at the Municipal Clinical Emergency Teaching Hospital in Timisoara, Romania. An in silico positional cloning approach was used to identify the presence of miRNAs at COVID-19 risk-associated genomic regions: CORSAIRs (COvid-19 RiSk AssocIated genomic Regions). The miRNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR. We found that miRNAs were enriched in CORSAIR. Low plasma levels of hsa-miR-150-5p and hsa-miR-93-5p were associated with higher COVID-19-related death. The levels of hsa-miR-92b-3p were associated with SARS-CoV-2 test positivity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) increased secretion of hsa-miR-150-5p, hsa-miR-93-5p, and hsa-miR-92b-3p after in vitro TLR7/8- and T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated activation. Increased levels of these three miRNAs were measured in the serum samples of healthy individuals between one and nine months after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 infection of human airway epithelial cells influenced the miRNA levels inside their secreted extracellular vesicles. MiRNAs are enriched at CORSAIR. Plasma miRNA levels can represent a potential blood biomarker for predicting COVID-19-related death in cancer patients.