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. 2021 Jun;104(2_suppl):368504211026119.
doi: 10.1177/00368504211026119.

Circulating furin, IL-6, and presepsin levels and disease severity in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients

Abdurrahim Kocyigit  1 , Ozgur Sogut  2 , Ezgi Durmus  1 , Ebru Kanimdan  1 , Eray Metin Guler  1 , Onur Kaplan  2 , Vildan Betul Yenigun  1 , Canan Eren  3 , Zeynep Ozman  1 , Oznur Yasar  1
Affiliations

Circulating furin, IL-6, and presepsin levels and disease severity in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients

Abdurrahim Kocyigit et al. Sci Prog. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in a vast number of infections and deaths that deeply affect the world. When the virus encounters the host cell, it binds to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, then the S protein of the virus is broken down by the transmembrane protease serine 2 with the help of furin, allowing the virus to enter the cell. The elevated inflammatory cytokines suggest that a cytokine storm, also known as cytokine release syndrome, may play a major role in the pathology of COVID-19. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between circulating furin levels, disease severity, and inflammation in patients with SARS-CoV-2. A total of 52 SARS-CoV-2 patients and 36 healthy control participants were included in this study. SARS- CoV-2 patients were scored by the disease activity score. Serum furin, presepsin, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean furin, presepsin, and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the peripheral blood of SARS-CoV-2 compared to the controls (p < 0.001). There were close positive relationship between serum furin and IL-6, furin and presepsin, and furin and disease severity (r = 0.793, p < 0001; r = 0.521, p < 0.001; and r = 0,533, p < 0.001, respectively) in patients with SARS-CoV-2. These results suggest that furin may contribute to the exacerbation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and increased inflammation, and could be used as a predictor of disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: IL-6; SARS-CoV-2; disease severity; furin; inflammation; presepsin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Correlations between circulating furin, IL-6, presepsin, and disease severity in patients with COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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