Evaluating the effects of circulating inflammatory proteins as drivers and therapeutic targets for severe COVID-19
Frontiers in Immunology, 2024
Baranova A., Luo J., Fu L., Yao G., Zhang F.
| Disease area | Application area | Sample type | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
Infectious Diseases | Pathophysiology | Plasma | O Olink Target 96 |
Abstract
Objective
The relationships between circulating inflammatory proteins and COVID-19 have been observed in previous cohorts. However, it is not unclear which circulating inflammatory proteins may boost the risk of or protect against COVID-19.
Methods
We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using GWAS summary result of 91 circulating inflammation-related proteins (N = 14,824) to assess their causal impact on severe COVID-19. The COVID-19 phenotypes encompassed both hospitalized (N = 2,095,324) and critical COVID-19 (N = 1,086,211). Moreover, sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness and reliability.
Results
We found that seven circulating inflammatory proteins confer positive causal effects on severe COVID-19. Among them, serum levels of IL-10RB, FGF-19, and CCL-2 positively contributed to both hospitalized and critical COVID-19 conditions (OR: 1.10~1.16), while the other 4 proteins conferred risk on critical COVID-19 only (OR: 1.07~1.16), including EIF4EBP1, IL-7, NTF3, and LIF. Meanwhile, five proteins exert protective effects against hospitalization and progression to critical COVID-19 (OR: 0.85~0.95), including CXCL11, CDCP1, CCL4/MIP, IFNG, and LIFR. Sensitivity analyses did not support the presence of heterogeneity in the majority of MR analyses.
Conclusions
Our study revealed risk and protective inflammatory proteins for severe COVID-19, which may have vital implications for the treatment of the disease.