posted on 2023-12-04, 20:00authored byYassene Mohammed, Karen Tran, Chris Carlsten, Christopher Ryerson, Alyson Wong, Terry Lee, Matthew P. Cheng, Donald C. Vinh, Todd C. Lee, Brent W. Winston, David Sweet, John H. Boyd, Keith R. Walley, Greg Haljan, Allison McGeer, Francois Lamontagne, Robert Fowler, David Maslove, Joel Singer, David M. Patrick, John C. Marshall, Srinivas Murthy, Fagun Jain, Christoph H. Borchers, David R. Goodlett, Adeera Levin, James A. Russell
Many COVID-19 survivors
have post-COVID-19 conditions, and females
are at a higher risk. We sought to determine (1) how protein levels
change from acute to post-COVID-19 conditions, (2) whether females
have a plasma protein signature different from that of males, and
(3) which biological pathways are associated with COVID-19 when compared
to restrictive lung disease. We measured protein levels in 74 patients
on the day of admission and at 3 and 6 months after diagnosis. We
determined protein concentrations by multiple reaction monitoring
(MRM) using a panel of 269 heavy-labeled peptides. The predicted forced
vital capacity (FVC) and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon
monoxide (DLCO) were measured by routine pulmonary function testing.
Proteins associated with six key lipid-related pathways increased
from admission to 3 and 6 months; conversely, proteins related to
innate immune responses and vasoconstriction-related proteins decreased.
Multiple biological functions were regulated differentially between
females and males. Concentrations of eight proteins were associated
with FVC, %, and they together had c-statistics of
0.751 (CI:0.732–0.779); similarly, concentrations of five proteins
had c-statistics of 0.707 (CI:0.676–0.737)
for DLCO, %. Lipid biology may drive evolution from acute to post-COVID-19
conditions, while activation of innate immunity and vascular regulation
pathways decreased over that period. (ProteomeXchange identifiers:
PXD041762, PXD029437)