Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Egypt J Immunol. 2023 Apr;30(2):99-108.
There are conflicting data regarding the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and Caspase-1 (Casp-1), interleukin-1ß (IL-1β), and IL-18. Our study sought to quantify the levels of IL-18, IL-1ß, and Casp-1 as indicators for inflammasome activation in COVID-19 patients at Assiut University Hospitals and to correlate their levels with parameters of disease severity in COVID-19 patients. Serum levels of Casp-1, IL-1β and IL-18 were measured in 63 COVID-19 patients and 26 normal controls by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Also, arterial blood gas analysis and laboratory parameters including hemoglobin, platelets, lymphocyte count, liver function test, kidney function test, C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, ferritin and LDH were estimated. Serum levels of Casp-1, IL-1β and IL-18 were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group as compared to controls (p= 0.04, p=0.001 and p=0.03, respectively). Although the three markers were higher in the severe group, yet only IL-1ß showed a significant difference as compared to the non-severe group (p=0.04). IL-18 had significant positive correlations with CRP and ferritin (p = 0.04 and p = 0.02, respectively). IL-1β was positively correlated with alanine aminotransferase. Casp-1 had significant positive correlations with CRP and lactate dehydrogenase (p=0.045 and p=0.001, respectively). Patients showed weak positive correlations between serum level of Casp-1 and each of IL-1β and IL-18. Also, a strong positive correlation was found between IL-1β and IL-18 (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, inflammasome activation was a hallmark in COVID-19 patients. The markers of activation were positively correlated with many parameters of inflammation, may suggest their important roles in the pathophysiology of the disease and its progression. IL-1β was the only marker to be correlated with disease severity and therefore may be suggested as a potential marker for identifying severe COVID-19 patients.
关于 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 严重程度与 Caspase-1 (Casp-1)、白细胞介素-1β (IL-1β) 和白细胞介素-18 之间的关系,存在相互矛盾的数据。我们的研究旨在量化 COVID-19 患者在 Assiut 大学医院的白细胞介素-18 (IL-18)、白细胞介素-1β (IL-1β) 和 Caspase-1 的水平,并将其与 COVID-19 患者疾病严重程度的参数相关联。通过酶联免疫吸附试验 (ELISA) 测量 63 名 COVID-19 患者和 26 名正常对照者的 Caspase-1、IL-1β 和 IL-18 的血清水平。此外,还评估了动脉血气分析和实验室参数,包括血红蛋白、血小板、淋巴细胞计数、肝功能试验、肾功能试验、C 反应蛋白 (CRP)、D-二聚体、铁蛋白和乳酸脱氢酶。与对照组相比,COVID-19 组的 Caspase-1、IL-1β 和 IL-18 血清水平显著升高(p=0.04,p=0.001 和 p=0.03,分别)。尽管严重组的这三个标志物水平更高,但只有 IL-1β 与非严重组相比有显著差异(p=0.04)。IL-18 与 CRP 和铁蛋白呈显著正相关(p=0.04 和 p=0.02,分别)。IL-1β 与丙氨酸氨基转移酶呈正相关。Caspase-1 与 CRP 和乳酸脱氢酶呈显著正相关(p=0.045 和 p=0.001,分别)。患者的 Caspase-1 血清水平与 IL-1β 和 IL-18 之间呈弱正相关。此外,还发现 IL-1β 与 IL-18 之间存在强正相关(p<0.0001)。总之,炎症小体激活是 COVID-19 患者的特征。激活标志物与许多炎症参数呈正相关,可能表明它们在疾病的病理生理学及其进展中具有重要作用。IL-1β 是唯一与疾病严重程度相关的标志物,因此可能被建议作为识别严重 COVID-19 患者的潜在标志物。