Dampening of proteomics activity associated with the COVID-19 patients afflicted with asthma based on gene expression pattern

Abstract

Introduction. It is established that the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections varies between individuals without underlying health conditions and those with chronic illnesses like asthma. Aim: to assess the gene expression of COVID-19 patients with and without asthma. Materials and Methods. 20 patient profiles out of a total of 288 were selected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE178399). All patients have positive PCR tests and were divided into 4 groups. GEO2R was used to estimate the comparison between groups. STRING tool was used to measure the correlation between genes. The phylogenetic tree was extracted using iTOL. The heat map was extracted using iDEP.96. Results. MMP10 (Matrix metalloproteinase-10), TNFRSF11B (Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 11B), CCL23 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 23), CD274 (Programmed cell death 1) CX3CL1 (C-X3-C motif chemokine), and IL17C (Interleukin-17C) had down-regulation for all patients. Transcriptome data conducted no correlation between the expression of MMP10 and asthma, although there is a significant correlation between the expression of MMP1 and sensitivity. The expression of IL17A, which is strongly related to allergic asthma, is decreased in non-asthmatic individuals but elevated in asthmatic patients, notably in survivors. Patients who were not asthmatic had significantly higher CXCL9 levels. Conclusions. The study revealed a disparity in the relationship between imbalanced gene expressions in the groups examined. The gene expression of asthma patients who survived and died was not significantly different.