AUTHOR=Dong Zehua , Yan Qiyu , Cao Wenxiu , Liu Zhixian , Wang Xiaosheng 

TITLE=Identification of key molecules in COVID-19 patients significantly correlated with clinical outcomes by analyzing transcriptomic data

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.930866

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.930866

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Although several key molecules have been identified to modulate SARS-CoV-2 invasion of human host cells, the molecules correlated with outcomes in COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection remain insufficiently explored.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>This study analyzed three RNA-Seq gene expression profiling datasets for COVID-19 and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between COVID-19 patients and normal people, commonly in the three datasets. Furthermore, this study explored the correlation between the expression of these genes and clinical features in COVID-19 patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>This analysis identified 13 genes significantly upregulated in COVID-19 patients’ leukocyte and SARS-CoV-2-infected nasopharyngeal tissue compared to normal tissue. These genes included <italic>OAS1</italic>, <italic>OAS2</italic>, <italic>OAS3</italic>, <italic>OASL</italic>, <italic>HERC6</italic>, <italic>SERPING1</italic>, <italic>IFI6</italic>, <italic>IFI44</italic>, <italic>IFI44L</italic>, <italic>CMPK2</italic>, <italic>RSAD2</italic>, <italic>EPSTI1</italic>, and <italic>CXCL10</italic>, all of which are involved in antiviral immune regulation. We found that these genes’ downregulation was associated with worse clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients, such as intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilatory support (MVS) requirement, elevated D-dimer levels, and increased viral loads. Furthermore, this analysis identified two COVID-19 clusters based on the expression profiles of the 13 genes, termed COV-C1 and COV-C2. Compared with COV-C1, COV-C2 more highly expressed the 13 genes, had stronger antiviral immune responses, were younger, and displayed more favorable clinical outcomes.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>A strong antiviral immune response is essential in reducing severity of COVID-19.</p></sec>