Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 85-067 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Department of Lung Diseases, Neoplasms and Tuberculosis, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 85-067 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Sep 28;24(19):14703. doi: 10.3390/ijms241914703.
Fluorescence lifetime measurements of blood or plasma offer valuable insights into the microenvironment and molecular interactions of fluorophores, particularly concerning albumin. Neutrophil- and hypoxia-induced oxidative stress in COVID-19 pneumonia patients leads to hyperinflammation, various oxidative modifications of blood proteins, and potential alterations in the fluorescence lifetime of tryptophan-containing proteins, especially albumin. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of blood and plasma as a prompt diagnostic tool for the early diagnosis and severity assessment of COVID-19-associated pneumonia. This study examined a cohort of sixty COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms. To investigate whether oxidative stress is the underlying cause of the change in fluorescence lifetime, human serum albumin was treated with chloramine T. The time-resolved spectrometer Life Spec II (Edinburgh Instruments Ltd., Livingston, UK), equipped with a sub-nanosecond pulsed 280 nm diode, was used to measure the fluorescence lifetime of blood and plasma. The findings revealed a significant reduction in the fluorescence lifetime of blood (diluted 200 times) and plasma (diluted 20 times) at 360 nm in COVID-19 pneumonia patients compared with their respective values recorded six months post-infection and those of healthy individuals. Significant negative correlations were observed between the mean fluorescence lifetime of blood and plasma at 360 nm and several severity biomarkers and advanced oxidation protein products, while a positive correlation was found with albumin and the albumin-globulin ratio. The time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy method demonstrates the potential to be used as a preliminary screening technique for identifying patients who are at risk of developing severe complications. Furthermore, the small amount of blood required for the measurements has the potential to enable a rapid fingerstick blood test.
血液或血浆的荧光寿命测量提供了有关荧光团微环境和分子相互作用的有价值的信息，特别是与白蛋白有关。COVID-19 肺炎患者中性粒细胞和缺氧引起的氧化应激导致过度炎症、血液蛋白的各种氧化修饰以及色氨酸含蛋白的荧光寿命的潜在改变，特别是白蛋白。本研究的目的是研究血液和血浆的时间分辨荧光光谱作为 COVID-19 相关肺炎的早期诊断和严重程度评估的快速诊断工具的功效。本研究检查了 60 名有呼吸道症状的 COVID-19 患者的队列。为了研究氧化应激是否是荧光寿命变化的根本原因，用氯胺 T 处理人血清白蛋白。使用配备亚纳秒脉冲 280nm 二极管的时间分辨光谱仪 Life Spec II（英国爱丁堡仪器有限公司）测量血液和血浆的荧光寿命。研究结果表明，与感染后六个月和健康个体相比，COVID-19 肺炎患者血液（稀释 200 倍）和血浆（稀释 20 倍）在 360nm 处的荧光寿命显着降低。在血液和血浆在 360nm 处的平均荧光寿命与几种严重程度生物标志物和高级氧化蛋白产物之间观察到显著的负相关，而与白蛋白和白蛋白-球蛋白比呈正相关。时间分辨荧光光谱法具有作为识别有发生严重并发症风险的患者的初步筛选技术的潜力。此外，测量所需的少量血液有可能实现快速手指刺血测试。
