Prognostic tools and candidate drugs based on plasma proteomics of patients with severe COVID-19 complications
Maryam Al‐Nesf, Houari Abdesselem, Ilham Bensmail, Shahd I. Ibrahim, Walaa Saeed, Sara Mohammed, Almurtada Razok, Hashim Alhussain, Reham M. A. Aly, Muna Al Maslamani, Khalid Ouararhni, Mohamad Khatib, Ali Ait Hssain, Ali S. Omrani, Saad Al-Kaabi, Abdullatif Al Khal, Asmaa Althani, Waseem Samsam, Abdulaziz Farooq, Jassim Al Suwaidi, Mohammed Al‐Maadheed, Heba Al-Siddiqi, Alexandra E. Butler, Julie Decock, Vidya Mohamed‐Ali, Fares Al‐Ejeh
Abstract
COVID-19 complications still present a huge burden on healthcare systems and warrant predictive risk models to triage patients and inform early intervention. Here, we profile 893 plasma proteins from 50 severe and 50 mild-moderate COVID-19 patients, and 50 healthy controls, and show that 375 proteins are differentially expressed in the plasma of severe COVID-19 patients. These differentially expressed plasma proteins are implicated in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and present targets for candidate drugs to prevent or treat severe complications. Based on the plasma proteomics and clinical lab tests, we also report a 12-plasma protein signature and a model of seven routine clinical tests that validate in an independent cohort as early risk predictors of COVID-19 severity and patient survival. The risk predictors and candidate drugs described in our study can be used and developed for personalized management of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.