Can circulating oxidative stress-related biomarkers be used as an early prognostic marker for COVID-19?

Pelin Uysal; Arzu Yüksel; Sinem Durmus; Çaglar Cuhadaroglu; Remise Gelisgen; Hafize Uzun

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1041115

Can circulating oxidative stress-related biomarkers be used as an early prognostic marker for COVID-19?

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Feb 9:10:1041115. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1041115. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Pelin Uysal¹, Arzu Yüksel², Sinem Durmus³, Çaglar Cuhadaroglu⁴, Remise Gelisgen³, Hafize Uzun⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chest Diseases, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University Faculty of Medicine, Maslak Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
² Department of Biochemistry, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University Faculty of Medicine, Atakent Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
³ Department of Medical Biochemistry, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁴ Department of Chest Diseases, Acibadem University Faculty of Medicine, Altunizade Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁵ Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul Atlas University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Abstract

Background: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and oxidative stress and the severity of the disease in new COVID-19 patients, and, to compare the levels of NF-κB, oxidized LDL (oxLDL), and lectin-like oxidized-LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) with oxygen saturation, which is an indicator of the severity parameters of the disease in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: In this prospective study, 100 COVID-19 patients and 100 healthy subjects were selected.

Results: LOX-1, NF-κB, and oxLDL were found to be higher in COVID-19 patients compared to the healthy subjects (p < 0.001 for all). According to the results of correlation analysis, it was found that there was no significant relationship between oxygen saturation and LOX-1, NF-κB and oxLDL parameters. There was significant relationship between oxLDL with LOX-1 and NF-κB in patients with COVID-19 disease. ROC analysis results of the highest discrimination power were oxLDL (AUC: 0.955, CI: 0.904-1.000; sensitivity: 77%, and specificity: 100%, for cutoff: 127.944 ng/l) indicating COVID-19.

Conclusion: Oxidative stress plays an essential role in COVID-19. NF-κB, oxLDL, and LOX-1 seem to represent good markers in COVID-19. Our study also showed that oxLDL has the highest power in distinguishing patients with COVID-19 from the healthy subjects.

Keywords: COVID-19; lectin-like oxidized-LDL receptor-1; lipid metabolism; nuclear factor kappa B; oxidized LDL.