Verdiguel-Fernández L, Arredondo-Hernández R, Mejía-Estrada JA, Ortiz A, Verdugo-Rodríguez A, Orduña P, Ponce de León-Rosales S, Calva JJ, López-Vidal Y. Differential expression of biomarkers in saliva related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with mild, moderate and severe COVID-19.
BMC Infect Dis 2023;
23:602. [PMID:
37715121 PMCID:
PMC10502992 DOI:
10.1186/s12879-023-08573-6]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Severe COVID-19 is a disease characterized by profound dysregulation of the innate immune system. There is a need to identify highly reliable prognostic biomarkers that can be rapidly assessed in body fluids for early identification of patients at higher risk for hospitalization and/or death. This study aimed to assess whether differential gene expression of immune response molecules and cellular enzymes, detected in saliva samples of COVID-19 patients, occurs according to disease severity staging.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, subjects with a COVID-19 diagnosis were classified as having mild, moderate, or severe disease based on clinical features. Transcripts of genes encoding 6 biomarkers, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, C-reactive protein, IDO1 and ACE2, were measured by RT‒qPCR in saliva samples of patients and COVID-19-free individuals.
RESULTS
The gene expression levels of all 6 biomarkers in saliva were significantly increased in severe disease patients compared to mild/moderate disease patients and healthy controls. A significant strong inverse relationship between oxemia and the level of expression of the 6 biomarkers (Spearman's correlation coefficient between -0.692 and -0.757; p < 0.001) was found.
CONCLUSIONS
Biomarker gene expression determined in saliva samples still needs to be validated as a potentially valuable predictor of severe clinical outcomes early at the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
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