Upregulation of interleukin-19 in saliva of patients with COVID-19
Fatemeh Saheb Sharif‐Askari, Narjes Saheb Sharif‐Askari, Shirin Hafezi, Swati Goel, Hawra Ali Hussain Alsayed, Abdul W. Ansari, Bassam Mahboub, Saleh Al‐Muhsen, Mohamad‐Hani Temsah, Qutayba Hamid, Rabih Halwani
Abstract
Abstract Cytokines are major players in orchestrating inflammation, disease pathogenesis and severity during COVID-19 disease. However, the role of IL-19 in COVID-19 pathogenesis remains elusive. Herein, through the analysis of transcriptomic datasets of SARS-CoV-2 infected lung cells, nasopharyngeal swabs, and lung autopsies of COVID-19 patients, we report that expression levels of IL-19 and its receptor, IL-20R2, were upregulated following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of 202 adult COVID-19 patients, IL-19 protein level was significantly higher in blood and saliva of asymptomatic patients compared to healthy controls when adjusted for patients’ demographics (P < 0.001). Interestingly, high saliva IL-19 level was also associated with COVID-19 severity (P < 0.0001), need for mechanical ventilation (P = 0.002), and/or death (P = 0.010) within 29 days of admission, after adjusting for patients’ demographics, diabetes mellitus comorbidity, and COVID-19 serum markers of severity such as D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and ferritin. Moreover, patients who received interferon beta during their hospital stay had lower plasma IL-19 concentrations (24 pg mL −1 ) than those who received tocilizumab (39.2 pg mL −1 ) or corticosteroids (42.5 pg mL −1 ). Our findings indicate that high saliva IL-19 level was associated with COVID-19 infectivity and disease severity.