Increased inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress enhanced antibody production in breast and prostate cancer patients with COVID-19 related depression

Naif K Binsaleh; Subuhi Sherwani; Reem Eltayeb; Husam Qanash; Abdulrahman S Bazaid; Maryam Althobiti; Mohannad S Hazzazi; Saravanan Rajendrasozhan

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1192074

Increased inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress enhanced antibody production in breast and prostate cancer patients with COVID-19 related depression

Front Chem. 2023 Apr 20:11:1192074. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1192074. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Naif K Binsaleh¹, Subuhi Sherwani², Reem Eltayeb¹, Husam Qanash¹, Abdulrahman S Bazaid¹, Maryam Althobiti³, Mohannad S Hazzazi^{4

5}, Saravanan Rajendrasozhan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Science, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Hematology Research Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Cancer management is highly dependent on the immune status of the patient. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of people suffered from anxiety and depression, especially cancer patients. The effect of depression on breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) patients, during the pandemic has been analyzed in this study. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA) and carbonyl content (CC) were estimated in patients' serum samples. Serum antibodies against in vitro hydroxyl radical (^•OH) modified pDNA (^•OH-pDNA-Abs) were estimated using direct binding and inhibition ELISA. Cancer patients showed increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers (MDA and CC levels), which were further significantly enhanced in cancer patients with depression compared to normal healthy (NH) individuals. Increased levels of ^•OH-pDNA-Abs were detected in breast cancer (0.506 ± 0.063) and prostate cancer (0.441 ± 0.066) patients compared to NH subjects. Serum antibodies were found to be significantly elevated in BC patients with depression (BCD) (0.698 ± 0.078) and prostate cancer patients with depression (PCD) (0.636 ± 0.058). Inhibition ELISA also exhibited significantly high percent inhibition in BCD (68.8% ± 7.8%) and PCD (62.9% ± 8.3%) subjects compared to BC (48.9% ± 8.1%), and PC (43.4% ± 7.5%) subjects. Cancer is characterized by enhanced oxidative stress and increased inflammation, which may be exaggerated with COVID-19 related depression. High oxidative stress and compromised antioxidant homeostasis exerts alterations in DNA, leading to formation of neo-antigens, subsequently leading to the generation of antibodies. COVID-19 pandemic related depression needs to be addressed globally for improved cancer patient care and cancer disease management.

Keywords: COVID-19; antibody; breast cancer; depression; inflammatory cytokines; oxidative stress; prostate cancer.

Grants and funding

This research has been funded by the Scientific Research Deanship at University of Ha’il—Saudi Arabia [project number (RG-21111)].