Lipid alternations in the plasma of COVID-19 patients with various clinical presentations

Front Immunol. 2023 Aug 29:14:1221493. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1221493. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease that can manifest in various clinical presentations. Although many studies have reported the lipidomic signature of COVID-19, the molecular changes in asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected individuals remain elusive.

Methods: This study combined a comprehensive lipidomic analysis of 220 plasma samples from 166 subjects: 62 healthy controls, 16 asymptomatic infections, and 88 COVID-19 patients. We quantified 732 lipids separately in this cohort. We performed a difference analysis, validated with machine learning models, and also performed GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis using differential lipids from different control groups.

Results: We found 175 differentially expressed lipids associated with SASR-CoV-2 infection, disease severity, and viral persistence in patients with COVID-19. PC (O-20:1/20:1), PC (O-20:1/20:0), and PC (O-18:0/18:1) better distinguished asymptomatic infected individuals from normal individuals. Furthermore, some patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid by RT-PCR but did not become negative for a longer period of time (≥60 days, designated here as long-term nucleic acid test positive, LTNP), whereas other patients became negative for viral nucleic acid in a shorter period of time (≤45 days, designated as short-term nucleic acid test positive, STNP). We have found that TG (14:1/14:1/18:2) and FFA (4:0) were differentially expressed in LTNP and STNP.

Conclusion: In summary, the integration of lipid information can help us discover novel biomarkers to identify asymptomatic individuals and further deepen our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; asymptomatic infection; lipids; long-term nucleic acid test positive.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Lipids
  • Nucleic Acids*
  • Plasma
  • SARS-CoV-2

Substances

  • Nucleic Acids
  • Lipids

Grants and funding

This study is supported in part by the Department of Science and Technology of Shaanxi Province (Grant No. 2020ZDXM2-SF-02) (CZ and BS) and operational funds from The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (CZ and BS).