Short Survey on the Protein Modifications in Plasma during SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Abstract

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, it is important to understand the pathology of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with respiratory failure and high mortality. The plasma proteome, including protein modification by lipid peroxidation products in COVID-19 survivors (COVID-19; n = 10) and deceased individuals (CovDeath; n = 10) was compared in samples collected upon admission to the hospital, when there was no difference in their status, with that of healthy individuals (Ctr; n = 10). The obtained results show that COVID-19 development strongly alters the expression of proteins involved in the regulation of exocytosis and platelet degranulation (top 20 altered proteins indicated by analysis of variance; p-value (False Discovery Rate) cutoff at 5%). These changes were most pronounced in the CovDeath group. In addition, the levels of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) adducts increased 2- and 3-fold, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) adducts increased 7- and 2.5-fold, respectively, in COVID-19 and CovDeath groups. Kinases and proinflammatory proteins were particularly affected by these modifications. Protein adducts with 15-deoxy-12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) were increased 2.5-fold in COVID-19 patients, including modifications of proteins such as p53 and STAT3, whereas CovDeath showed a decrease of approximately 60% compared with Ctr. This study for the first time demonstrates the formation of lipid metabolism products—protein adducts in plasma from survived and deceased COVID-19 patients, significantly distinguishing them, which may be a predictor of the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection.