Session Type: ePosters
Session Title: ePosters
Authors(s): N. Martínez-Bosch (1, 2), J. Gómez-Junyent (3), L. Sorlí (3), N.I. Torres (4), R. Güerri (3), M. Hardy-Werbin (1, 5), P. García De Frutos (6), D. Bernardo (7), V. Wiersba (8), A. Sirino (9), G. Rabinovich (4), P. Navarro (1, 2, 6)
Authors Affiliations(s): (1) Cancer Research Program, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (2) Unidad Asociada IMIM-Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (3) Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital del Mar-IMIM, Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (4) Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME), CONICET, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina., Argentina, (5) Emergency Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (6) Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (7) Instituto de Biología y Genética Molecular (IBGM), Universidad de Valladolid - CSIC. Valladolid, Spain., Spain, (8) Servicio de Hematología y Transplante Hematopoyético, Hospital Universitario Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina., Argentina, (9) Servicio de Terapia Intensiva de Adultos, Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Ignacio Pirovano., Argentina
Background:
One of the main challenges in the management of COVID-19 infection is the control of patients that develop severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome caused by a fatal cytokine storm syndrome and innate immune cell activation. Galectins, a family of proteins that bind to glycoconjugates, control acute and chronic inflammation by positively or negatively modulating the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, regulating neutrophil trafficking, modulating NK cell function, differentiation of monocytes and dendritic cells, T- and B- cell activation, differentiation, and survival, among others. Our hypothesis is that the galectin family may serve as biomarkers of COVID-19.
Methods:Plasma from patients with different severities of COVID-19 were collected upon hospital admission at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona and Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid (n=237). Plasma samples from controls were received from Barcelona Blood and Tissue Bank (n=60) and from Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid (n=48). Samples were analyzed by sandwich ELISA for human Galectin-1 (Gal-1), Galectin-3 (Gal-3), and Galectin-9 (Gal-9), and results correlated with clinical features and outcome.
Results:Patients with COVID-19 mild disease, without hospitalization (n=10); moderate disease, requiring hospitalization (n=178); severe disease, requiring intensive care admission (n=16) and fatal disease, death (n=33) were included in the study. Median Gal-1 and Gal-3 plasma levels were not significantly changed upon COVID-19 diagnosis (27.82 vs 30.86 ng/mL P=0.122, and 12.08 vs 12.7 ng/mL P=0.489, respectively). However, Gal-9 levels in plasma showed a significant increase upon SARS-CoV-2 infection (7.1876 vs 25.8716 ng/mL P<0.0001). Importantly, Gal-1 and Gal-3 levels were significantly increased in fatal cases compared to all other groups (P<0.0001). Gal-9 levels in plasma displayed a concentration-dependent positive correlation with disease severity (P<0.0001), being 13.44 ng/mL in mild cases, 24.91 ng/mL in moderate ones and 28.49 ng/mL and 36.89 ng/mL in patients with severe and fatal disease, respectively.
Conclusions:Circulating protein levels of Gal-9 may represent a novel biomarker for COVID-19 diagnosis and increased levels of Gal-1, Gal-3 and Gal-9 may be prognostic biomarkers of disease severity. Results are currently being validated by expanding the cohort and in two additional patient cohorts at Hospital Pirovano and Hospital Universitario Austral (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Keyword(s): Galectins, SARS-CoV-2, BiomarkersSession Type: ePosters
Session Title: ePosters
Authors(s): N. Martínez-Bosch (1, 2), J. Gómez-Junyent (3), L. Sorlí (3), N.I. Torres (4), R. Güerri (3), M. Hardy-Werbin (1, 5), P. García De Frutos (6), D. Bernardo (7), V. Wiersba (8), A. Sirino (9), G. Rabinovich (4), P. Navarro (1, 2, 6)
Authors Affiliations(s): (1) Cancer Research Program, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (2) Unidad Asociada IMIM-Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (3) Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital del Mar-IMIM, Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (4) Laboratorio de Inmunopatología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME), CONICET, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina., Argentina, (5) Emergency Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (6) Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain., Spain, (7) Instituto de Biología y Genética Molecular (IBGM), Universidad de Valladolid - CSIC. Valladolid, Spain., Spain, (8) Servicio de Hematología y Transplante Hematopoyético, Hospital Universitario Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina., Argentina, (9) Servicio de Terapia Intensiva de Adultos, Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Ignacio Pirovano., Argentina
Background:
One of the main challenges in the management of COVID-19 infection is the control of patients that develop severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome caused by a fatal cytokine storm syndrome and innate immune cell activation. Galectins, a family of proteins that bind to glycoconjugates, control acute and chronic inflammation by positively or negatively modulating the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, regulating neutrophil trafficking, modulating NK cell function, differentiation of monocytes and dendritic cells, T- and B- cell activation, differentiation, and survival, among others. Our hypothesis is that the galectin family may serve as biomarkers of COVID-19.
Methods:Plasma from patients with different severities of COVID-19 were collected upon hospital admission at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona and Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid (n=237). Plasma samples from controls were received from Barcelona Blood and Tissue Bank (n=60) and from Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid (n=48). Samples were analyzed by sandwich ELISA for human Galectin-1 (Gal-1), Galectin-3 (Gal-3), and Galectin-9 (Gal-9), and results correlated with clinical features and outcome.
Results:Patients with COVID-19 mild disease, without hospitalization (n=10); moderate disease, requiring hospitalization (n=178); severe disease, requiring intensive care admission (n=16) and fatal disease, death (n=33) were included in the study. Median Gal-1 and Gal-3 plasma levels were not significantly changed upon COVID-19 diagnosis (27.82 vs 30.86 ng/mL P=0.122, and 12.08 vs 12.7 ng/mL P=0.489, respectively). However, Gal-9 levels in plasma showed a significant increase upon SARS-CoV-2 infection (7.1876 vs 25.8716 ng/mL P<0.0001). Importantly, Gal-1 and Gal-3 levels were significantly increased in fatal cases compared to all other groups (P<0.0001). Gal-9 levels in plasma displayed a concentration-dependent positive correlation with disease severity (P<0.0001), being 13.44 ng/mL in mild cases, 24.91 ng/mL in moderate ones and 28.49 ng/mL and 36.89 ng/mL in patients with severe and fatal disease, respectively.
Conclusions:Circulating protein levels of Gal-9 may represent a novel biomarker for COVID-19 diagnosis and increased levels of Gal-1, Gal-3 and Gal-9 may be prognostic biomarkers of disease severity. Results are currently being validated by expanding the cohort and in two additional patient cohorts at Hospital Pirovano and Hospital Universitario Austral (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Keyword(s): Galectins, SARS-CoV-2, Biomarkers