Interleukin-17, a salivary biomarker for COVID-19 severity

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 17; no. 9; p. e0274841
• Main Authors: Sharif-Askari, Fatemeh Saheb, Sharif-Askari, Narjes Saheb, Hafezi, Shirin, Mdkhana, Bushra, Alsayed, Hawra Ali Hussain, Ansari, Abdul Wahid, Mahboub, Bassam, Zakeri, Adel M, Temsah, Mohamad-Hani, Zahir, Walid, Hamid, Qutayba, Halwani, Rabih
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 22.09.2022; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers; C-reactive protein; Comorbidity; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cytokines; Death; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Ferritin; Health aspects; Interleukin 17; Interleukins; Kinases; Measurement; Mechanical ventilation; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Mortality; Respiratory diseases; Saliva; Salivary diagnostics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Ventilation; Viral diseases; Saudi Arabia; United States > US; Dubai United Arab Emirates; United Arab Emirates
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274841

T-helper 17 cell-mediated response and their effector IL-17 cytokine induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a major cause of COVID-19 disease severity and death. Therefore, the study aimed to determine if IL-17 level in saliva mirrors its circulatory level and hence can be used as a non-invasive biomarker for disease severity. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) level was evaluated by ELISA in saliva and blood of 201 adult COVID-19 patients with different levels of severity. The IL-17 saliva level was also associated with COVID-19 disease severity, and need for mechanical ventilation and/or death within 29 days after admission of severe COVID-19 patients. We found that IL-17 level in saliva of COVID-19 patients reflected its circulatory level. High IL-17 level in saliva was associated with COVID-19 severity (P<0.001), need for mechanical ventilation (P = 0.002), and/or death by 29 days (P = 0.002), after adjusting for patients' demographics, comorbidity, and COVID-19 serum severity markers such as D-Dimer, C-reactive protein, and ferritin. We propose that saliva IL-17 level could be used as a biomarker to identify patients at risk of developing severe COVID-19.