Medical Student Hackensack Meridian Sch. of Med. Nutley, New Jersey, United States
Disclosure(s):
Edgar Kazarian: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction/Rationale: The interplay between apoptotic versus non-apoptotic programmed cell death (PCD) mechanisms may have a significant role in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). The objective of the current study is to investigate PCD markers in serum and plasma samples derived from PASC patient cases in comparison with unaffected controls.
Methods: The study protocol was approved by the Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) Biorepository Research Integrity Committee and is an IRB-exempt study for deidentified samples. Serum and plasma samples derived from PASC cases and unaffected controls (N=15) were analyzed by Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays (ELISAs) for PCD markers and antiviral immune-responsive cytokines. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) combined with Tukey’s multiple comparisons statistical analyses of the data was performed. Statistical significance level set at p< 0.05 and data presented as mean-fold increase in PASC cases compared to controls.
Results: Preliminary ELISA results indicated no significant differences in serum or plasma levels of caspase-3, serum cleaved caspase-3 and serum caspase-1 between PASC cases and unaffected controls (p> 0.05). However, plasma levels of cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-1 were significantly higher in PASC cases versus unaffected controls (2.5-fold, *p=0.02 and 4-fold, ****p < 0.0001, respectively). SQSTM1/p62 showed significantly higher levels in serum and plasma from PASC cases compared to controls (90-fold, **p=0.006 and 60-fold, *p=0.03, respectively). Serum and plasma antiviral immune responsive cytokines IL-1-beta (over 10-fold, ****p < 0.0001), IFN-gamma (over 5-fold, ****p < 0.0001) and TNF-alpha (over 10-fold, **p < 0.01) were significantly elevated in PASC cases compared to controls.
Conclusion: Significant elevation of non-apoptotic PCD markers in serum and/or plasma samples derived from PASC cases compared to unaffected controls might indicate the diagnostic utility of non-apoptotic PCD markers in PASC cases.
