CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciencesgrid.9227.e, Beijing, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciencesgrid.9227.e, Beijing, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2021 Dec 22;9(3):e0059721. doi: 10.1128/Spectrum.00597-21. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
Early and effective identification of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may allow us to improve the outcomes of associated severe acute respiratory illness with fever and respiratory symptoms. This study analyzed plasma concentrations of heat shock protein gp96 in nonsevere (including mild and typical) and severe (including severe and critical) patients with COVID-19 to evaluate its potential as a predictive and prognostic biomarker for disease severity. Plasma gp96 levels that were positively correlated with interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital but not in non-COVID-19 patients with less severe respiratory impairment. Meanwhile, significantly higher gp96 levels were observed in severe than nonsevere patients. Moreover, the continuous decline of plasma gp96 levels predicted disease remission and recovery, whereas its persistently high levels indicated poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization. Finally, monocytes were identified as the major IL-6 producers under exogenous gp96 stimulation. Our results demonstrate that plasma gp96 may be a useful predictive and prognostic biomarker for disease severity and outcome of COVID-19. Early and effective identification of severe COVID-19 may allow us to improve the outcomes of associated severe acute respiratory illness with fever and respiratory symptoms. Some heat shock proteins (Hsps) are released during oxidative stress, cytotoxic injury, and viral infection and behave as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). This study analyzed plasma concentrations of Hsp gp96 in nonsevere and severe patients with COVID-19. Significantly higher plasma gp96 levels were observed in severe than those in nonsevere patients, and its persistently high levels indicated poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients. The results demonstrate that plasma gp96 may be a useful predictive and prognostic biomarker for disease severity and outcome of COVID-19.
早期有效识别严重 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）可能使我们能够改善与发热和呼吸道症状相关的严重急性呼吸道疾病的结局。本研究分析了非重症（包括轻症和普通型）和重症（包括重型和危重型）COVID-19 患者的血浆热休克蛋白 gp96 浓度，以评估其作为疾病严重程度预测和预后生物标志物的潜力。与白细胞介素 6（IL-6）水平呈正相关的血浆 gp96 水平在住院 COVID-19 患者中显著升高，但在非 COVID-19 患者（呼吸损害较轻）中并未升高。同时，重症患者的 gp96 水平显著高于非重症患者。此外，血浆 gp96 水平持续下降预示着疾病缓解和恢复，而其持续高水平则表明 COVID-19 患者住院期间预后不良。最后，单核细胞被鉴定为外源性 gp96 刺激下产生 IL-6 的主要细胞。我们的研究结果表明，血浆 gp96 可能是 COVID-19 疾病严重程度和结局的有用预测和预后生物标志物。早期有效识别严重 COVID-19 可能使我们能够改善与发热和呼吸道症状相关的严重急性呼吸道疾病的结局。一些热休克蛋白（Hsps）在氧化应激、细胞毒性损伤和病毒感染期间释放，作为危险相关分子模式（DAMPs）发挥作用。本研究分析了 COVID-19 非重症和重症患者的血浆 Hsp gp96 浓度。重症患者的血浆 gp96 水平明显高于非重症患者，其持续高水平表明 COVID-19 患者预后不良。研究结果表明，血浆 gp96 可能是 COVID-19 疾病严重程度和结局的有用预测和预后生物标志物。
