Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 20;10(5):e26619.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26619. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.

The association between high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and Interleukin-18 (IL-18) serum concentrations in COVID-19 inpatients

Sri Wulandari  1   2 , Titik Nuryastuti  3 , Farida Nur Oktoviani  3 , Marselinus Edwin Widyanto Daniwijaya  3 , Endah Supriyati  4 , Eggi Arguni  5 , Hartono  2 , Tri Wibawa  3
Affiliations

The association between high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and Interleukin-18 (IL-18) serum concentrations in COVID-19 inpatients

Sri Wulandari et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) are involved in various non-coronavirus disease pathogenesis and are reported as potential biomarkers for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, their association with COVID-19 pathogenesis has not yet been explored.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between HMGB1 and IL-18 concentrations in the sera of COVID-19 patients versus non-COVID-19 patients.

Material and methods: We used stored serum samples obtained from 30 COVID-19 patients and 30 non-COVID-19 patients. We collected data on age, gender, treatment status, principal diagnosis, and comorbidity from patient medical records. HMGB1 and IL-18 concentrations were analyzed in the serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The swab samples' RT-PCR cycle threshold (CT) values were obtained from the laboratory database.

Results: HMGB1 concentrations were increased in the COVID-19 inpatients and non-COVID-19 inpatients compared to non-COVID-19 outpatients (COVID-19 inpatients vs. non-COVID-19 outpatients: 151.33 (90.27-192.38) vs. 80.75 (54.16-128.72) ng/ml; p = 0.0316; non-COVID-19 inpatients vs. non-COVID-19 outpatients: 152.66 (104.04-288.51) vs. 80.75 (54.16-128.72) ng/ml; p = 0.0199). IL-18 concentrations were also higher in the COVID-19 inpatients and non-COVID-19 inpatients compared to non-COVID-19 outpatients (COVID-19 inpatients vs. non-COVID-19 outpatients: 620.00 (461.50-849.6) vs. 403.10 (372.70-556.90) pg/ml; p = 0.0376; non-COVID-19 inpatients vs. non-COVID-19 outpatients: 835.70 (558.30-1602.00) vs. 403.10 (372.70-556.90) pg/ml; p = 0.0026). Moreover, HMGB1 was associated with IL-18 concentrations in the sera of COVID-19 inpatients (p = 0.0337; r = 0.5500).

Conclusion: The association of HMGB1 and IL-18 in COVID-19 might indicate the potential for a dangerous cycle leading to a cytokine storm to occur.

Keywords: COVID-19; HMGB1; IL-18; Inpatients; Non-COVID-19; Outpatients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
HMGB1 (a) and IL-18 (b) serum concentrations in outpatients and inpatients non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 groups. All data are expressed in median (IQR). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; HMGB1: high mobility group box 1; IL: interleukin.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Spearman’s correlation analyses between HMGB1 and IL-18 serum concentrations in non-COVID-19 respiratory inpatients (a), non-COVID-19 non-respiratory inpatients (b), COVID-19 outpatients (c), and COVID-19 inpatients (d) groups. The degree of correlation is expressed as Spearman’s correlation coefficient rho (r) and p-value. HMGB1: high mobility group box 1; IL: interleukin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Msemburi W., Karlinsky A., Knutson V., Aleshin-Guendel S., Chatterji S., Wakefield J. The WHO estimates of excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature. 2023;613(7942):130–137. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05522-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Puno G.R., Puno R.C.C., Maghuyop I.V. COVID-19 case fatality rates across Southeast Asian countries (SEA): a preliminary estimate using a simple linear regression model. J Heal Res. 2020;35(3):286–294. doi: 10.1108/JHR-06-2020-0229. - DOI
    1. Unicef UNICEF . 2022. Indonesia COVID-19 Situation Report: October-December 2022-Indonesia|ReliefWeb.https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/unicef-indonesia-covid-19-situati...
    1. WHO . 2023. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard with Vaccination Data; p. 1.https://covid19.who.int/
    1. CDC . CDC; 2023. Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with Higher Risk for Severe COVID-19: Information for Healthcare Professionals.https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/underlyingco...

LinkOut - more resources