AUTHOR=Wolszczak-Biedrzycka Blanka , Dorf Justyna , Wojewódzka-Żelezniakowicz Marzena , Żendzian-Piotrowska Małgorzata , Dymicka-Piekarska Violetta , Matowicka-Karna Joanna , Maciejczyk Mateusz 

TITLE=Changes in chemokine and growth factor levels may be useful biomarkers for monitoring disease severity in COVID-19 patients; a pilot study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1320362

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1320362

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of serum levels of chemokines and growth factors (GFs) for monitoring the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the patients' MEWS scores. The serum levels of the following proteins: MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, RANTES, eotaxin, cutaneous T cell-attracting chemokine (CTACK), growth-regulated oncogene-alpha (GRO-α), interferon gamma-induced protein (IP-10), and MIG, and the serum levels of the following GFs: basic fibroblast growth factor (basic-FGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), stem cell growth factor-beta (SCGF-β), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), stem cell factor (SCF), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1α), tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and interferon gamma (INF-γ) were analyzed in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with the use of the Bio-Plex Pro™ Human Cytokine Screening Panel (Biorad) and the Bio-Plex Multiplex system. Results: The study demonstrated that IP-10, MIG, basic-FGF, and GM-CSF were the most useful diagnostic markers for distinguishing patients with different severity of COVID-19. Conclusions: MIG, basic-FGF and GM-CSF can be useful biomarkers for monitoring disease severity in patients with COVID-19.