Background: Even after 3 years from SARS-CoV-2 identification, COVID-19 is still a persistent and dangerous global infectious disease. Significant improvements in our understanding of the disease pathophysiology have now been achieved. Nonetheless, reliable and accurate biomarkers for the early stratification of COVID-19 severity are still lacking. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are ncRNAs longer than 200 nucleotides, regulating the transcription and translation of protein-coding genes and they can be found in the peripheral blood, thus holding a promising biomarker potential. Specifically, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have emerged as a source of indirect biomarkers mirroring the conditions of tissues: they include monocytes, B and T lymphocytes, and natural killer T cells (NKT), being highly informative for immune-related events. Methods: We profiled by RNA-Sequencing a panel of 2906 lncRNAs to investigate their modulation in PBMCs of a pilot group of COVID-19 patients, followed by qPCR validation in 111 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Results: The levels of four lncRNAs were found to be decreased in association with COVID-19 mortality and disease severity: HLA Complex Group 18-242 and -244 (HCG18-242 and HCG18-244), Lymphoid Enhancer Binding Factor 1-antisense 1 (LEF1-AS1) and lncCEACAM21 (i.e. ENST00000601116.5, a lncRNA in the CEACAM21 locus). Interestingly, these deregulations were confirmed in an independent patient group of hospitalized patients and by the re-analysis of publicly available single-cell transcriptome datasets. The identified lncRNAs were expressed in all of the PBMC cell types and inversely correlated with the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory marker. In vitro, the expression of LEF1-AS1 and lncCEACAM21 was decreased upon THP-1 monocytes exposure to a relevant stimulus, hypoxia. Conclusion: The identified COVID-19-lncRNAs are proposed as potential innovative biomarkers of COVID-19 severity and mortality.

HCG18, LEF1AS1 and lncCEACAM21 as biomarkers of disease severity in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of COVID-19 patients

Bruno A.;
2023-01-01

Abstract

Background: Even after 3 years from SARS-CoV-2 identification, COVID-19 is still a persistent and dangerous global infectious disease. Significant improvements in our understanding of the disease pathophysiology have now been achieved. Nonetheless, reliable and accurate biomarkers for the early stratification of COVID-19 severity are still lacking. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are ncRNAs longer than 200 nucleotides, regulating the transcription and translation of protein-coding genes and they can be found in the peripheral blood, thus holding a promising biomarker potential. Specifically, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have emerged as a source of indirect biomarkers mirroring the conditions of tissues: they include monocytes, B and T lymphocytes, and natural killer T cells (NKT), being highly informative for immune-related events. Methods: We profiled by RNA-Sequencing a panel of 2906 lncRNAs to investigate their modulation in PBMCs of a pilot group of COVID-19 patients, followed by qPCR validation in 111 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Results: The levels of four lncRNAs were found to be decreased in association with COVID-19 mortality and disease severity: HLA Complex Group 18-242 and -244 (HCG18-242 and HCG18-244), Lymphoid Enhancer Binding Factor 1-antisense 1 (LEF1-AS1) and lncCEACAM21 (i.e. ENST00000601116.5, a lncRNA in the CEACAM21 locus). Interestingly, these deregulations were confirmed in an independent patient group of hospitalized patients and by the re-analysis of publicly available single-cell transcriptome datasets. The identified lncRNAs were expressed in all of the PBMC cell types and inversely correlated with the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory marker. In vitro, the expression of LEF1-AS1 and lncCEACAM21 was decreased upon THP-1 monocytes exposure to a relevant stimulus, hypoxia. Conclusion: The identified COVID-19-lncRNAs are proposed as potential innovative biomarkers of COVID-19 severity and mortality.
2023
2023
Greco, S.; Made’, A.; Mutoli, M.; Zhang, L.; Piella, S. N.; Vausort, M.; Lumley, A. I.; Beltrami, A. P.; Srivastava, P. K.; Milani, V.; Boveri, S.; Ra...espandi
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
12967_2023_Article_4497.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 3.39 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.39 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11383/2163191
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 0
  • Scopus 3
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 3
social impact