Department of Internal Medicine I, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
Viruses. 2023 Jul 6;15(7):1511. doi: 10.3390/v15071511.
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) reduces low density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake, leading to increased plasma levels of LDL. In addition, PCSK9 has been implicated in inflammation independently of the effects on cholesterol metabolism. The current analysis showed that our 156 patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or sepsis had higher plasma PCSK9 levels in contrast with the 68 healthy controls. COVID-19 sepsis patients had increased plasma PCSK9 levels in comparison to sepsis patients not infected by SARS-CoV-2. For further analysis, patients were divided in two groups based on COVID-19. In both sub-cohorts, plasma PCSK9 levels did not correlate with C-reactive protein, leukocyte count, and procalcitonin. Plasma PCSK9 levels of both patient groups did not significantly differ among SIRS/sepsis patients with and without dialysis and patients with and without ventilation. Furthermore, vasopressor therapy was not significantly associated with altered plasma PCSK9 levels. In the non-COVID-19 SIRS/sepsis group, patients with Gram-negative and Gram-positive infections had similar plasma PCSK9 levels as patients without a detectable pathogen in their blood. In conclusion, the current study suggests PCSK9 as a possible biomarker for COVID-19, but this needs to be validated in larger cohorts.
前蛋白转化酶枯草溶菌素 9（PCSK9）可减少低密度脂蛋白（LDL）的摄取，导致 LDL 血浆水平升高。此外，PCSK9 已被证实与胆固醇代谢无关的炎症有关。目前的分析表明，我们的 156 例全身炎症反应综合征（SIRS）或败血症患者的血浆 PCSK9 水平高于 68 例健康对照者。与未感染 SARS-CoV-2 的败血症患者相比，COVID-19 败血症患者的血浆 PCSK9 水平升高。为了进一步分析，根据 COVID-19 将患者分为两组。在两个亚组中，血浆 PCSK9 水平与 C 反应蛋白、白细胞计数和降钙素原均无相关性。两组患者的 SIRS/败血症患者中，无论是否透析、是否通气，血浆 PCSK9 水平均无显著差异。此外，血管加压药治疗与血浆 PCSK9 水平的改变无显著相关性。在非 COVID-19 的 SIRS/败血症组中，革兰氏阴性和革兰氏阳性感染患者的血浆 PCSK9 水平与血液中未检测到病原体的患者相似。总之，本研究提示 PCSK9 可能是 COVID-19 的一个潜在生物标志物，但这需要在更大的队列中进行验证。
