Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a System-Level Infectious Disease With Distinct Sex Disparities

Predictions based on inflammatory cytokine profiling of Egyptian COVID-19 with 2 potential therapeutic effects of certain marine-derived compounds

BACKGROUNDS

A worldwide coronavirus pandemic has affected many healthcare systems in 2019 (COVID-19). Following viral activation, cytokines and chemokines are released, causing inflammation and tissue death, particularly in the lungs, resulting in severe COVID-19 symptoms such as pneumonia and ARDS. COVID-19 induces the release of several chemokines and cytokines in different organs, such as the cardiovascular system and lungs.

RESEARCH IDEA

COVID-19 and its more severe effects, such as an elevated risk of death, are more common in patients with metabolic syndrome and the elderly. Cytokine storm and COVID-19 severity may be mitigated by immunomodulation targeting NF-κB activation in conjunction with TNF- α -inhibition. In severe cases of COVID-19, inhibiting the NF-κB/TNF- α, the pathway may be employed as a therapeutic option.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study will elaborate on the Egyptian pattern for COVID-19 patients in the first part of our study. An Egyptian patient with COVID-19 inflammatory profiling will be discussed in the second part of this article using approved marine drugs selected to inhabit the significant inflammatory signals. A biomarker profiling study is currently being performed on Egyptian patients with SARS-COV-2. According to the severity of the infection, participants were divided into four groups. The First Group was non-infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Control, n = 16), the Second Group was non-intensive care patients (non-ICU, n = 16), the Third Group was intensive care patients (ICU, n = 16), and the Fourth Group was ICU with endotracheal intubation (ICU + EI, n = 16). To investigate COVID-19 inflammatory biomarkers for Egyptian patients, several inflammatory, oxidative, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory biomarkers were measured. The following are examples of blood tests: CRP, Ferritin, D-dimer, TNF-α, IL-8, IL-6., IL-Ib, CD8, NF-κB, MDA, and total antioxidants.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the current study revealed many logical findings, such as the elevation of CRP, Ferritin, D-dimer, TNF- α, CD8, IL-6, IL-, NF-κB, and MDA. Where a significant increase showed in ICU group results (23.05 ± 0.30, 2.35 ± 0.86, 433.4 ± 159.3, 26.67 ± 3.51, 7.52 ± 1.48, 7.49 ± 1.04, 5.76 ± 1.31, 7.41 ± 0.73) respectively, and also ICU group results (54.75 ± 3.44, 0.65 ± 0.13, 460.2 ± 121.42, 27.43 ± 2.52, 8.63 ± 2.68, 10.65 ± 2.75, 5.93 ± 1.4, 10.64 ± 0.86) respectively, as well as ICU + EI group results (117.63 ± 11.89, 1.22 ± 0.65, 918.8 ± 159.27, 26.68 ± 2.00, 6.68 ± 1.08, 11.68 ± 6.16, 6.23 ± 0.07, 22.41 ± 1.39),respectively.The elevation in laboratory biomarkers of cytokines storm in three infected groups with remarkable increases in the ICU + EI group was due to the elevation of oxidative stress and inflammatory storm molecules, which lead to highly inflammatory responses, specifically in severe patients of COVID-19. Another approach to be used in the current study is investigating new computational drug compounds for SARS-COV-2 protective agents from the marine environment. The results revealed that (Imatinib and Indinavir) had the highest affinity toward Inflammatory molecules and COVID-19 proteins (PDB ID: -7CZ4 and 7KJR), which may be used in the future as possible COVID-19 drug candidates.

CONCLUSION

The investigated inflammatory biomarkers in Egyptian COVID-19 patients showed a strong correlation between IL6, TNF-α, NF-κB, CRB, DHL, and ferritin as COVID-19 biomarkers and determined the severity of the infection. Also, the oxidative /antioxidant showed good biomarkers for infection recovery and progression of the patients.

Characterization of Clinical Features of Hospitalized Patients Due to the SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Absence of Comorbidities Regarding the Sex: An Epidemiological Study of the First Year of the Pandemic in Brazil

The male sex, due to the presence of genetic, immunological, hormonal, social, and environmental factors, is associated with higher severity and death in Coronavirus Disease (COVID)-19. We conducted an epidemiological study to characterize the COVID-19 clinical profile, severity, and outcome according to sex in patients with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) due to the fact of this disease. We carried out an epidemiological analysis using epidemiological data made available by the OpenDataSUS, which stores information about SARS in Brazil. We recorded the features of the patients admitted to the hospital for SARS treatment due to the presence of COVID-19 (in the absence of comorbidities) and associated these characteristics with sex and risk of death. The study comprised 336,463 patients, 213,151 of whom were men. Male patients presented a higher number of clinical signs, for example, fever (OR = 1.424; 95%CI = 1.399−1.448), peripheral arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) < 95% (OR = 1.253; 95%CI = 1.232−1.274), and dyspnea (OR = 1.146; 95%CI = 1.125−1.166) as well as greater need for admission in intensive care unit (ICU, OR = 1.189; 95%CI = 1.168−1.210), and the use of invasive ventilatory support (OR = 1.306; 95%CI = 1.273−1.339) and noninvasive ventilatory support (OR = 1.238; 95%CI = 1.216−1.260) when compared with female patients. Curiously, the male sex was associated only with a small increase in the risk of death when compared with the female sex (OR = 1.041; 95%CI = 1.023−1.060). We did a secondary analysis to identify the main predictors of death. In that sense, the multivariate analysis enabled the prediction of the risk of death, and the male sex was one of the predictors (OR = 1.101; 95%CI = 1.011−1.199); however, with a small effect size. In addition, other factors also contributed to this prediction and presented a great effect size, they are listed below: older age (61−72 years old (OR = 15.778; 95%CI = 1.865−133.492), 73−85 years old (OR = 31.978; 95%CI = 3.779−270.600), and +85 years old (OR = 68.385; 95%CI = 8.164−589.705)); race (Black (OR = 1.247; 95%CI = 1.016−1.531), Pardos (multiracial background; OR = 1.585; 95%CI = 1.450−1.732), and Indigenous (OR = 3.186; 95%CI = 1.927−5.266)); clinical signs (for instance, dyspnea (OR = 1.231; 95%CI = 1.110−1.365) and SpO2 < 95% (OR = 1.367; 95%CI = 1.238−1.508)); need for admission in the ICU (OR = 3.069; 95%CI = 2.789−3.377); and for ventilatory support (invasive (OR = 10.174; 95%CI = 8.803−11.759) and noninvasive (OR = 1.609; 95%CI = 1.438−1.800)). In conclusion, in Brazil, male patients tend to present the phenotype of higher severity in COVID-19, however, with a small effect on the risk of death.

Heparanase Is a Putative Mediator of Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage in COVID-19 - A Proof-of-Concept Study

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease associated with injury (thinning) of the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC), a protective layer on the vascular endothelium. The aim of this translational study was to investigate the role of the eGC-degrading enzyme heparanase (HPSE), which is known to play a central role in the destruction of the eGC in bacterial sepsis. Excess activity of HPSE in plasma from COVID-19 patients correlated with several markers of eGC damage and perfused boundary region (PBR, an inverse estimate of glycocalyx dimensions of vessels with a diameter 4-25 µm). In a series of translational experiments, we demonstrate that the changes in eGC thickness of cultured cells exposed to COVID-19 serum correlated closely with HPSE activity in concordant plasma samples (R = 0.82, P = 0.003). Inhibition of HPSE by a nonanticoagulant heparin fragment prevented eGC injury in response to COVID-19 serum, as shown by atomic force microscopy and immunofluorescence imaging. Our results suggest that the protective effect of heparin in COVID-19 may be due to an eGC-protective off-target effect.