Understanding protection from SARS-CoV-2 using metabolomics

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging in most countries. Although the recent mass vaccination campaign has opened a new chapter in the battle against SARS-CoV-2, the world is still far from herd immunity. There is an urgent need to identify healthy people at high risk of contracting COVID-19, as well as supplements and nutraceuticals that can reduce the risk of infection or mitigate symptoms. In the present study, a metabolic phenotype that could protect individuals from SARS-CoV-2 infection or predispose them to developing COVID-19 was investigated. Untargeted metabolomics was performed on serum samples collected from 51 healthcare workers who were in good health at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, and who were later exposed to the same risk of developing COVID-19. Half of them developed COVID-19 within three weeks of the blood collection. Our results demonstrate the presence of a specific signature associated with protection from SARS-CoV-2. Circulating monolaurin, which has well-known antiviral and antibacterial properties, was higher in protected subjects, suggesting a potential defensive role against SARS-CoV-2 infection; thus, dietary supplements could boost the immune system against this infection. In addition, our data demonstrate that people with higher levels of cholesterol are at higher risk of developing COVID-19. The present study demonstrates that metabolomics can be of great help for developing personalized medicine and for supporting public healthcare strategies. Studies with larger cohorts of subjects are necessary to confirm our findings.

1H qNMR-Based Metabolomics Discrimination of Covid-19 Severity

“…Previous publications on Covid-19 metabolomics support our findings once phenylalanine- and pyruvate-related metabolic pathways are described to be altered in different cohorts. 40 , 55 , 58 , 59 , 69 − 71 As discussed above, energy-related metabolic pathways, such as pyruvate metabolism, were shown to be relevant markers for symptom severity due to their close relation with viral replication and cytokine production.…”

The Infectious Bronchitis Coronavirus Pneumonia Model Presenting a Novel Insight for the SARS-CoV-2 Dissemination Route

“…The inhibitory effect of AgNPs in SARS-CoV-2 NL/2020 strain replication in cultured Vero E6 cells was confirmed [ 46 ]. A randomized study (with 114 and 117 participants in experimental and control groups, respectively) demonstrated that mouthwash and nose rinse with 1% Argovit-C reduced the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate 16 times in healthcare personnel attending on average 169 patients with COVID-19 per week per person [ 47 ]. It was demonstrated that the silver nanocluster/silica composite coating deposited on facial masks possessed a virucidal effect against SARS-CoV-2 [ 29 ].…”

New Non-Invasive Method for the Authentication of Apple Cultivars

“…For analysis of small molecules extracted from the apple surface, a LECO Pegasus BT 4D GCxGC/TOFMS set with a LECO dual-stage quad jet thermal modulator was used (LECO, Berlin, Germany). A previously described GCxGC-MS method was used [ 21 ].…”