COVID-19 Modulates Inflammatory and Renal Markers That May Predict Hospital Outcomes among African American Males

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 13; no. 12; p. 2415
• Main Authors: Fonseca, Wendy, Asai, Nobuhiro, Yagi, Kazuma, Malinczak, Carrie-Anne, Savickas, Gina, Johnson, Christine C., Murray, Shannon, Zoratti, Edward M., Lukacs, Nicholas W., Li, Jia, Schuler IV, Charles F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02.12.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: African Americans; Aged; Biomarkers - blood; CCL3 protein; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 infection; cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Cytokines - metabolism; death; demographic statistics; Demographics; Demography; Electronic medical records; Hospital Mortality; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Humans; Immune response; Inflammation; Intensive Care Units; Interleukin 18; Interleukin 6; Kidney - immunology; Kidney - injuries; Kidneys; Male; Males; medical history; Michigan; Middle Aged; Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Mortality; nephrotoxicity; Osteopontin; Patients; prediction; renal toxicity; Retrospective Studies; risk; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Toxicity; Michigan; United States > US; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; renal toxicity; cytokines
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v13122415

Background and Objectives: African Americans and males have elevated risks of infection, hospitalization, and death from SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with other populations. We report immune responses and renal injury markers in African American male patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective study of 56 COVID-19 infected hospitalized African American males 50+ years of age selected from among non-intensive care unit (ICU) and ICU status patients. Demographics, hospitalization-related variables, and medical history were collected from electronic medical records. Plasma samples collected close to admission (≤2 days) were evaluated for cytokines and renal markers; results were compared to a control group (n = 31) and related to COVID-19 in-hospital mortality. Results: Among COVID-19 patients, eight (14.2%) suffered in-hospital mortality; seven (23.3%) in the ICU and one (3.8%) among non-ICU patients. Interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-33 were elevated at admission in COVID-19 patients in comparison with controls. IL-6, IL-18, MCP-1/CCL2, MIP-1α/CCL3, IL-33, GST, and osteopontin were upregulated at admission in ICU patients in comparison with controls. In addition to clinical factors, MCP-1 and GST may provide incremental value for risk prediction of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: Qualitatively similar inflammatory responses were observed in comparison to other populations reported in the literature, suggesting non-immunologic factors may account for outcome differences. Further, we provide initial evidence for cytokine and renal toxicity markers as prognostic factors for COVID-19 in-hospital mortality among African American males.