Project description:The causative organism, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), exhibits a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations in disease-ridden patients. Differences in the severity of COVID-19 ranges from asymptomatic infections and mild cases to the severe form, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiorgan failure with poor survival. MiRNAs can regulate various cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation, by binding to the 3′UTR of target mRNAs inducing their degradation, thus serving a fundamental role in post-transcriptional repression. Alterations of miRNA levels in the blood have been described in multiple inflammatory and infectious diseases, including SARS-related coronaviruses. We used microarrays to delineate the miRNAs and snoRNAs signature in the peripheral blood of severe COVID-19 cases (n=9), as compared to mild (n=10) and asymptomatic (n=10) patients, and identified differentially expressed transcripts in severe versus asymptomatic, and others in severe versus mild COVID-19 cases. A cohort of 29 male age-matched patients were selected. All patients were previously diagnosed with COVID-19 using TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Massachusetts), or Cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test (Roche Diagnostics, Rotkreuz, Switzerland), with a CT value < 30. Additional criterion for selection was age between 35 and 75 years. Participants were grouped into severe, mild and asymptomatic. Classifying severe cases was based on requirement of high-flow oxygen support and ICU admission (n=9). Whereas mild patients were identified based on symptoms and positive radiographic findings with pulmonary involvement (n=10). Patients with no clinical presentation were labelled as asymptomatic cases (n=10).
Project description:To trace immune responses in COVID-19 patients with severity, we performed in-depth, longitudinal single-cell multiomics involving T-cell receptor (TCR)/B-cell receptor (BCR) sequencing, feature barcoded antibody (Ab) panel detection (i.e., cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing, CITE-seq) followed by RNA sequencing in a single-cell resolution.
Project description:COVID-19 is associated with endotheliopathy and coagulopathy, potentially leading to multi-organ failure. However, the direct mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to endothelial damage are unclear. Here we developed an infection-competent human vascular organoid from pluripotent stem cells amenable for modeling endotheliopathy. Longitudinal proteome analysis of COVID-19 patient serume was conducted to gain further insights into molecular mediators that drive vascular complications. Differential signatures were identified by comparing late- and early- recovery groups. In the late recovery group, there were significant increases in FCGBP (anti-inflammation), SFTPB (lung surfactant metabolism), coagulation system (A2M and SERPINA1), and complement proteins (C7, CFHR5, and CFD) on day 1-2.