Smitha T, Thomas Anela
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, V.S Dental College and hospital, Bangalore.
J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2023 Oct-Dec;27(4):715-719. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_208_23. Epub 2023 Dec 20.
Furin, a polybasic cleavage enzyme, is increasingly recognized in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndromes like diabetes. Its cleavage action is an essential activation step for the SARS-CoV-2 attachment site at the junction of S1 and S2, the two subunits of the spike. This allows effective cleavage by furin and has a role in determining viral infectivity and host range. The increased expression of the furin enzyme in the saliva is remarkable enough to be noted as a susceptibility factor for diabetic patients.
The present study focuses on the qualitative assessment of the furin enzyme through an immunological ELISA test.
The study consisted of three groups, each of whom was a COVID-19 recovered patient ( = 20), a diabetic patient ( = 20), and a healthy patient ( = 20).
The study assessed significantly increased levels of the furin enzyme generally in diabetic patients and COVID-19 recovered patients as compared to the healthy control group.
The estimation of furin in saliva still holds the possibility of being a prognostic marker in many COVID-19 infected patients. Further evidence-based studies are required to establish the same.
弗林蛋白酶是一种多碱性裂解酶，在糖尿病等代谢综合征的发病机制中越来越受到关注。其裂解作用是严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）刺突蛋白S1和S2两个亚基交界处附着位点的关键激活步骤。这使得弗林蛋白酶能够进行有效裂解，并在决定病毒感染性和宿主范围方面发挥作用。唾液中弗林蛋白酶的表达增加显著到足以被视为糖尿病患者的一个易感因素。
本研究聚焦于通过免疫酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）试验对弗林蛋白酶进行定性评估。
该研究包括三组，每组分别为20名新冠康复患者、20名糖尿病患者和20名健康患者。
该研究评估发现，与健康对照组相比，糖尿病患者和新冠康复患者体内弗林蛋白酶水平普遍显著升高。
在许多新冠感染患者中，唾液中弗林蛋白酶的检测仍有可能成为一种预后标志物。需要进一步开展循证研究来证实这一点。
