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. 2024 May 22;25(11):5620.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25115620.

Could SP-A and SP-D Serum Levels Predict COVID-19 Severity?

Luca Maddaloni  1 , Veronica Zullino  2 , Ginevra Bugani  1 , Alessandro Lazzaro  1 , Matteo Brisciani  2 , Claudio Maria Mastroianni  1 , Letizia Santinelli  1 , Franco Ruberto  2
Affiliations

Could SP-A and SP-D Serum Levels Predict COVID-19 Severity?

Luca Maddaloni et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Given the various clinical manifestations that characterize Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the scientific community is constantly searching for biomarkers with prognostic value. Surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) are collectins that play a crucial role in ensuring proper alveolar function and an alteration of their serum levels was reported in several pulmonary diseases characterized by Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary fibrosis. Considering that such clinical manifestations can also occur during Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we wondered if these collectins could act as prognostic markers. In this regard, serum levels of SP-A and SP-D were measured by enzyme immunoassay in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 51) at admission (T0) and after seven days (T1) and compared with healthy donors (n = 11). SP-D increased in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls during the early phases of infection, while a significant reduction was observed at T1. Stratifying SARS-CoV-2 patients according to disease severity, increased serum SP-D levels were observed in severe compared to mild patients. In light of these results, SP-D, but not SP-A, seems to be an eligible marker of COVID-19 pneumonia, and the early detection of SP-D serum levels could be crucial for preventive clinical management.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; SP-A; SP-D; collectins; surfactant proteins.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of serum SP-A (A) and SP-D (B) between SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at hospitalization (T0) and 7 days after (T1) and healthy controls. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test for unpaired samples, and the Wilcoxon signed–rank test for paired samples. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of serum SP-A (A) and SP-D (B) between mild and severe SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at hospitalization (T0) and 7 days after (T1) and healthy controls. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test for unpaired samples, and the Wilcoxon signed–rank test for paired samples. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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