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. 2020 Nov 23;9(11):3785.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9113785.

Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products and Its Forms in COVID-19 Patients with and without Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study on Their Role as Disease Biomarkers

Elena Dozio  1 , Clementina Sitzia  1 , Lara Pistelli  2 , Rosanna Cardani  3 , Roberta Rigolini  2 , Marco Ranucci  4 , Massimiliano M Corsi Romanelli  1   2
Affiliations

Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products and Its Forms in COVID-19 Patients with and without Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Study on Their Role as Disease Biomarkers

Elena Dozio et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), a well-known player of diabetes mellitus (DM)-related morbidities, was supposed to be involved in coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), but no data exist about COVID-19, DM, and the soluble RAGE (sRAGE) forms. We quantified total sRAGE and its forms, the endogenously secretory esRAGE and the membrane-cleaved cRAGE, in COVID-19 patients with and without DM and in healthy individuals to explore how COVID-19 may affect these molecules and their potential role as biomarkers. Circulating sRAGE and esRAGE were quantified by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assays. cRAGE was obtained by subtracting esRAGE from total sRAGE. sRAGE, esRAGE, cRAGE, and the cRAGE/esRAGE ratio did not differ between DM and non-DM patients and had the same trend when compared to healthy individuals. Levels of total sRAGE, cRAGE, and cRAGE/esRAGE ratio were upregulated, while esRAGE was downregulated. The lack of difference between DM and non-DM COVID-19 patients in the levels of sRAGE and its forms supports the hypothesis that in COVID-19 the RAGE system is modulated regardless of glycemic control. Identifying how sRAGE and its forms associate to COVID-19 prognosis and the potential of RAGE as a therapeutic target to control inflammatory burden seem of relevance to help treatment of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; cRAGE; diabetes mellitus; esRGAE; sRAGE.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Blood glucose, (b) glycated albumin, (c) sRAGE (soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products), (d) esRAGE (endogenously secretory receptor for advanced glycation end products), (e) cRAGE (membrane-cleaved receptor for advanced glycation end products), and (f) cRAGE/esRAGE ratio in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-19) patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). CTR, healthy individuals; DM−, COVID-19 patients without DM; DM+, COVID-19 patients with DM. * p < 0.05 vs. CTR, ** p < 0.01 vs. CTR, *** p < 0.001 vs. CTR, °°° p < 0.001 vs. DM-.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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