Wnt5a and Wnt11 as acute respiratory distress syndrome biomarkers for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 patients

Abstract

Wnt5a/Wnt11 can be used as potential ARDS biomarkers for SARS-CoV-2 patients https://bit.ly/3lxEGRA

FIGURE 1

Wnt5a/Wnt11: a promising diagnostic marker for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Plasma was secured from 20 healthy volunteers, 80 SARS-CoV-2 patients, 25 patients who progressed to ARDS (SARS-CoV-2 ARDS) and 25 discharged patients (no SARS-CoV-2 detected). a) Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to Yeungnam University Hospital (Daegu, Republic of Korea). Data are presented as n, mean±sd or n (%). BMI: body mass index. ^#: includes COPD, asthma, bronchiectasis and interstitial lung disease. b) i–iv) Analysis of Wnt5a and Wnt11 concentrations in SARS-CoV-2 patients; b) v, vi) the mRNA expression of Wnt5a and Wnt11 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was quantified using quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. ***: p<0.001 versus normal or survival; ^###: p<0.001 versus SARS-CoV-2. c) i) Wnt5a or Wnt11 protein was visualised in PBMCs isolated from normal and SARS-CoV-2 ARDS patients by immunofluorescence staining (×200); c) ii, iii) Wnt5a or Wnt11 secreted from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 ARDS and discharged patients were detected by ELISA. SARS-CoV-2 sepsis patient plasma was incubated with Wnt5a antibody (20 μg·mL⁻¹) or recombinant human Wnt11 (10 ng·mL⁻¹) for 6 h (each group n=18). *: p<0.05 versus SARS-CoV-2; ^##: p<0.01 versus SARS-CoV-2 ARDS. d) i) Binding activity of NF-κB (p65) in PBMCs and d) ii–vii) plasma cytokine levels in SARS-CoV-2 ARDS patient PBMCs treated with anti-Wnt5a antibody or recombinant human Wnt11. Data are presented as mean±sem. IL: interleukin; IFN: interferon; TNF: tumour necrosis factor. Significance was set at p<0.05. **: p<0.01 versus PBS.