Xu Juanjuan, Zhou Mei, Luo Ping, Yin Zhengrong, Wang Sufei, Liao Tingting, Yang Fan, Wang Zhen, Yang Dan, Peng Yi, Geng Wei, Li Yunyun, Zhang Hui, Jin Yang
Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, NHC Key Laboratory of Pulmonary Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Department of Translational Medicine Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 16;73(12):2228-2239. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab147.
Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may help to discover therapeutic targets.
To determine the metabolomic profile of circulating plasma from COVID-19 survivors with pulmonary sequelae 3 months after discharge, a random, outcome-stratified case-control sample was analyzed. We enrolled 103 recovered COVID-19 patients as well as 27 healthy donors, and performed pulmonary function tests, computerized tomography (CT) scans, laboratory examinations, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Plasma metabolite profiles of COVID-19 survivors with abnormal pulmonary function were different from those of healthy donors or subjects with normal pulmonary function. These alterations were associated with disease severity and mainly involved amino acid and glycerophospholipid metabolic pathways. Furthermore, increased levels of triacylglycerols, phosphatidylcholines, prostaglandin E2, arginine, and decreased levels of betain and adenosine were associated with pulmonary CO diffusing capacity and total lung capacity. The global plasma metabolomic profile differed between subjects with abnormal and normal pulmonary function.
Further metabolite-based analysis may help to identify the mechanisms underlying pulmonary dysfunction in COVID-19 survivors, and provide potential therapeutic targets in the future.
阐明2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）发病机制中涉及的分子机制可能有助于发现治疗靶点。
为了确定出院3个月后有肺部后遗症的COVID-19康复者循环血浆的代谢组学特征，对一个随机、按结果分层的病例对照样本进行了分析。我们招募了103名康复的COVID-19患者以及27名健康供者，并进行了肺功能测试、计算机断层扫描（CT）、实验室检查和液相色谱-质谱分析。
肺功能异常的COVID-19康复者的血浆代谢物谱与健康供者或肺功能正常的受试者不同。这些改变与疾病严重程度相关，主要涉及氨基酸和甘油磷脂代谢途径。此外，三酰甘油、磷脂酰胆碱、前列腺素E2、精氨酸水平升高，以及甜菜碱和腺苷水平降低与肺一氧化碳弥散量和肺总量有关。肺功能异常和正常的受试者之间的整体血浆代谢组学特征存在差异。
进一步基于代谢物的分析可能有助于确定COVID-19康复者肺功能障碍的潜在机制，并在未来提供潜在的治疗靶点。
