Prognostic tools and candidate drugs based on plasma proteomics of patients with severe COVID-19 complications

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 946
• Main Authors: Al-Nesf, Maryam A. Y., Abdesselem, Houari B., Bensmail, Ilham, Ibrahim, Shahd, Saeed, Walaa A. H., Mohammed, Sara S. I., Razok, Almurtada, Alhussain, Hashim, Aly, Reham M. A., Al Maslamani, Muna, Ouararhni, Khalid, Khatib, Mohamad Y., Hssain, Ali Ait, Omrani, Ali S., Al-Kaabi, Saad, Al Khal, Abdullatif, Al-Thani, Asmaa A., Samsam, Waseem, Farooq, Abdulaziz, Al-Suwaidi, Jassim, Al-Maadheed, Mohammed, Al-Siddiqi, Heba H., Butler, Alexandra E., Decock, Julie V., Mohamed-Ali, Vidya, Al-Ejeh, Fares
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.02.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 49/79; 631/250/2520; 631/250/255/2514; 631/326/596/4130; 692/420/254; 82/80; Adult; Blood Proteins - analysis; Complications; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - drug therapy; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - pathology; Cytokines - blood; Drug development; Drugs; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Laboratory tests; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Pathogenesis; Patients; Plasma; Plasma proteins; Prognosis; Proteins; Proteomics; Proteomics - methods; Risk; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Severity of Illness Index; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28639-4

COVID-19 complications still present a huge burden on healthcare systems and warrant predictive risk models to triage patients and inform early intervention. Here, we profile 893 plasma proteins from 50 severe and 50 mild-moderate COVID-19 patients, and 50 healthy controls, and show that 375 proteins are differentially expressed in the plasma of severe COVID-19 patients. These differentially expressed plasma proteins are implicated in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and present targets for candidate drugs to prevent or treat severe complications. Based on the plasma proteomics and clinical lab tests, we also report a 12-plasma protein signature and a model of seven routine clinical tests that validate in an independent cohort as early risk predictors of COVID-19 severity and patient survival. The risk predictors and candidate drugs described in our study can be used and developed for personalized management of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Prognostic markers for patients with COVID-19 are of critical importance in determining the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection and patient handling. Here the authors determine and apply a prognostic proteomic panel for risk and drug prediction in the management of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.