Service of Neurology, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria and IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.
Service of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria and IDIVAL, Santander, Spain.
Arch Med Res. 2023 Jan;54(1):56-63. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2022.12.002. Epub 2022 Dec 30.
Vasoactive peptides play an important role in a wide range of physiological and pathological conditions. Due to its known functions, the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has been suggested as a possible modulator of the hyperimmune response in COVID-19 and thus, blocking its action may lessen the pulmonary effects of COVID-19.
To compare the circulating levels of CGRPα and CGRPβ in healthy controls compared to hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The study also analyzed how different comorbidities and treatments may affect these concentrations in cases of COVID-19 infection with pulmonary involvement METHODS: Serum samples were collected from the antecubital vein of 51 control subjects (mean age = 55 ± 14 years; range = 26-77; 56.9% female) and 52 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection (mean age = 55 ± 13; range = 23-77; 55.8% female) from December 2020 to May 2021. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used for CGRPα (Abbexa, UK) and CGRPβ (CUSABIO, China) measurements. Comorbidities, symptoms, and treatments of infection were listed.
The results showed that the serum levels of both isoforms of CGRP were significantly higher in patients with COVID-19 (α: 57.9 ± 35.8 pg/mL; β: 6.1 ± 2.6 pg/mL) compared to controls (α: 41.8 ± 25.4 pg/mL; β: 4.5 ± 2.4 pg/mL) (p <0.01). Also, the presence of arterial hypertension (HT), obesity, or corticosteroid treatment significantly alter the serum concentration of CGRPα in the subgroups compared to controls.
The elevated serum CGRP levels found in our COVID-19 group compared to controls may suggest that CGRP plays a role in the pathophysiology of the disease, more specifically, in the cytokine storm and in the pulmonary involvement. Future studies should focus on the source of this CGRP elevation.
血管活性肽在广泛的生理和病理条件中发挥重要作用。由于其已知的功能，降钙素基因相关肽（CGRP）被认为是 COVID-19 中过度免疫反应的可能调节剂，因此，阻断其作用可能会减轻 COVID-19 的肺部影响。
比较健康对照组与住院 COVID-19 患者的 CGRPα 和 CGRPβ 的循环水平。该研究还分析了不同合并症和治疗方法如何影响 COVID-19 感染伴有肺部受累患者的这些浓度。
从 2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 5 月期间，从 51 名健康对照组（平均年龄 55 ± 14 岁；范围 26-77；56.9%女性）和 52 名因 COVID-19 住院的患者（平均年龄 55 ± 13；范围 23-77；55.8%女性）的肘前静脉采集血清样本。使用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISAs）测量 CGRPα（Abbexa，英国）和 CGRPβ（CUSABIO，中国）。列出了合并症、症状和感染的治疗方法。
结果表明，COVID-19 患者的两种 CGRP 同工型血清水平均显著高于对照组（α：57.9 ± 35.8 pg/mL；β：6.1 ± 2.6 pg/mL）（p <0.01）。此外，动脉高血压（HT）、肥胖或皮质类固醇治疗的存在会使 CGRPα 的血清浓度在亚组中与对照组相比发生显著变化。
与对照组相比，我们的 COVID-19 组中发现的血清 CGRP 水平升高可能表明 CGRP 在疾病的病理生理学中发挥作用，更具体地说，在细胞因子风暴和肺部受累中发挥作用。未来的研究应集中在这种 CGRP 升高的来源上。
