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Kuley R, Duvvuri B, Wallin JJ, Bui N, Adona MV, O’Connor NG, Sahi SK, Stanaway IB, Wurfel MM, Morrell ED, Liles WC, Bhatraju PK, Lood C. Mitochondrial N-formyl methionine peptides contribute to exaggerated neutrophil activation in patients with COVID-19. Virulence 2023; 14:2218077. [PMID: 37248708 PMCID: PMC10231045 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2023.2218077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Neutrophil dysregulation is well established in COVID-19. However, factors contributing to neutrophil activation in COVID-19 are not clear. We assessed if N-formyl methionine (fMet) contributes to neutrophil activation in COVID-19. Elevated levels of calprotectin, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and fMet were observed in COVID-19 patients (n = 68), particularly in critically ill patients, as compared to HC (n = 19, p < 0.0001). Of note, the levels of NETs were higher in ICU patients with COVID-19 than in ICU patients without COVID-19 (p < 0.05), suggesting a prominent contribution of NETs in COVID-19. Additionally, plasma from COVID-19 patients with mild and moderate/severe symptoms induced in vitro neutrophil activation through fMet/FPR1 (formyl peptide receptor-1) dependent mechanisms (p < 0.0001). fMet levels correlated with calprotectin levels validating fMet-mediated neutrophil activation in COVID-19 patients (r = 0.60, p = 0.0007). Our data indicate that fMet is an important factor contributing to neutrophil activation in COVID-19 disease and may represent a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runa Kuley
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Center for Life Sciences, Mahindra University, Hyderabad, India
| | - Bhargavi Duvvuri
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Nam Bui
- Biomarker Sciences, Gilead Sciences Inc, Foster City, CA, USA
| | - Mary Vic Adona
- Biomarker Sciences, Gilead Sciences Inc, Foster City, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas G. O’Connor
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sharon K. Sahi
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ian B. Stanaway
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mark M. Wurfel
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Eric D. Morrell
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - W. Conrad Liles
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Sepsis Center of Research Excellence-UW (SCORE-UW), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Pavan K. Bhatraju
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Sepsis Center of Research Excellence-UW (SCORE-UW), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Christian Lood
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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