Constantin Laura, Ungurianu Anca, Streinu-Cercel Anca, Săndulescu Oana, Aramă Victoria, Margină Denisa, Țârcomnicu Isabela
National Institute of Infectious Diseases "Prof. Dr. Matei Bals", 021105 Bucharest, Romania.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020956 Bucharest, Romania.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Mar 6;25(5):3042. doi: 10.3390/ijms25053042.
Endocan is an endothelial-cell-specific proteoglycan (ESM-1) and has emerged as an endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory marker in recent years. Endocan can be used as a marker of inflammatory endothelial dysfunction in endothelium-dependent disease: cardiovascular disease, sepsis, lung and kidney disease and malignancies. Recent data suggest that endothelial dysfunction is a key mechanism in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Endotheliitis and thrombo-inflammation are associated with severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and endocan is currently under investigation as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker. The aim of this study was to determine serum endocan levels in patients with COVID-19 to evaluate the correlation between endocan levels and clinical disease diagnosis and prognosis. This study enrolled 56 patients, divided into three groups depending on disease severity: mild (15), moderate (25) and severe (16). The biochemical, demographic, clinical and imagistic data were collected and evaluated in correlation with the endocan levels. Serum endocan levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19 patients compared to the control group; also, endocan concentration correlated with vaccination status. The results revealed significantly elevated serum endocan levels in COVID-19 patients compared to the control group, with a correlation observed between endocan concentration and vaccination status. These findings suggest that endocan may serve as a novel biomarker for detecting inflammation and endothelial dysfunction risk in COVID-19 patients. There was no significant relationship between serum endocan levels and disease severity or the presence of cardiovascular diseases. Endocan can be considered a novel biomarker for the detection of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction risk in COVID-19 patients.
内脂素是一种内皮细胞特异性蛋白聚糖（内皮特异性分子-1），近年来已成为一种内皮功能障碍和炎症标志物。内脂素可作为内皮依赖性疾病（心血管疾病、脓毒症、肺和肾脏疾病以及恶性肿瘤）中炎症性内皮功能障碍的标志物。最近的数据表明，内皮功能障碍是新型冠状病毒肺炎发病机制的关键机制。内皮炎和血栓炎症与严重的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2感染形式相关，目前正在研究将内脂素作为一种潜在的诊断和预后标志物。本研究的目的是测定新型冠状病毒肺炎患者的血清内脂素水平，以评估内脂素水平与临床疾病诊断和预后之间的相关性。本研究纳入了56例患者，根据疾病严重程度分为三组：轻度（15例）、中度（25例）和重度（16例）。收集并评估了生化、人口统计学、临床和影像学数据，并与内脂素水平进行相关性分析。与对照组相比，新型冠状病毒肺炎患者的血清内脂素水平显著更高；此外，内脂素浓度与疫苗接种状态相关。结果显示，与对照组相比，新型冠状病毒肺炎患者的血清内脂素水平显著升高，内脂素浓度与疫苗接种状态之间存在相关性。这些发现表明，内脂素可能作为一种新型生物标志物，用于检测新型冠状病毒肺炎患者的炎症和内皮功能障碍风险。血清内脂素水平与疾病严重程度或心血管疾病的存在之间没有显著关系。内脂素可被视为检测新型冠状病毒肺炎患者炎症和内皮功能障碍风险的新型生物标志物。
