Complex changes in serum protein levels upon recovery from SARS-CoV2 infection

Abstract

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic, triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has affected millions of people worldwide. Much research has been dedicated to our understanding of COVID-19 disease heterogeneity and severity, but less is known about recovery associated changes. To address this gap in knowledge, we quantified the proteome from serum samples from 29 recuperated COVID-19 patients and 29 age-, race-, and sex-matched healthy controls. Many proteins from pathways known to change upon acute COVID-19 illness, such as from the complement cascade, coagulation system, inflammation and adaptive immune system, had returned to levels seen in healthy controls. In comparison, we identified 22 and 15 proteins with significantly elevated and lowered levels, respectively, amongst recuperated COVID-19 cases compared to healthy controls. Some of the changes were similar to those observed for the acute phase of the disease, i.e. elevated levels of proteins from hemolysis, the adaptive immune systems, and inflammation. In contrast, some changes opposed those in the acute phase, e.g. elevated levels of CETP and APOA1 which function in lipid/cholesterol metabolism, and decreased levels of proteins from the complement cascade (e.g. C1R, C1, and VWF), the coagulation system (e.g. THBS1 and VWF), and the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton (e.g. PFN1 and CFL1) amongst recuperated COVID-19 cases. We speculate that some of these changes might originate from transient decreases in platelet counts upon recovery from the disease. Finally, we observed race-specific changes, e.g. with respect to immunoglobulins and cholesterol-metabolism-related proteins.