학술논문
Plasma cell-free RNA characteristics in COVID-19 patients
Document Type
Article
Author
Wang, Yanqun; Li, Jie; Zhang, Lu; Sun, Hai-Xi; Zhang, Zhaoyong; Xu, Jinjin; Xu, Yonghao; Lin, Yu; Zhu, Airu; Luo, Yuxue; Zhou, Haibo; Wu, Yan; Lin, Shanwen; Sun, Yuzhe; Xiao, Fei; Chen, Ruiying; Wen, Liyan; Chen, Wei; Li, Fang; Ou, Rijing; Zhang, Yanjun; Kuo, Tingyou; Li, Yuming; Li, Lingguo; Sun, Jing; Sun, Kun; Zhuang, Zhen; Lu, Haorong; Chen, Zhao; Mai, Guoqiang; Zhuo, Jianfen; Qian, Puyi; Chen, Jiayu; Yang, Huanming; Wang, Jian; Xu, Xun; Zhong, Nanshan; Zhao, Jingxian; Li, Junhua; Zhao, Jincun; Jin, Xin
Source
Genome Research; 2022, Vol. 32 Issue: 2 p228-241, 14p
Subject
Language
ISSN
10889051; 15495469
Abstract
The pathogenesis of COVID-19 is still elusive, which impedes disease progression prediction, differential diagnosis, and targeted therapy. Plasma cell-free RNAs (cfRNAs) carry unique information from human tissue and thus could point to resourceful solutions for pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of cfRNA profiles between COVID-19 patients and healthy donors using serial plasma. Analyses of the cfRNA landscape, potential gene regulatory mechanisms, dynamic changes in tRNA pools upon infection, and microbial communities were performed. A total of 380 cfRNA molecules were up-regulated in all COVID-19 patients, of which seven could serve as potential biomarkers (AUC > 0.85) with great sensitivity and specificity. Antiviral (NFKB1A, IFITM3, and IFI27) and neutrophil activation (S100A8, CD68, and CD63)–related genes exhibited decreased expression levels during treatment in COVID-19 patients, which is in accordance with the dynamically enhanced inflammatory response in COVID-19 patients. Noncoding RNAs, including some microRNAs (let 7 family) and long noncoding RNAs (GJA9-MYCBP) targeting interleukin (IL6/IL6R), were differentially expressed between COVID-19 patients and healthy donors, which accounts for the potential core mechanism of cytokine storm syndromes; the tRNA pools change significantly between the COVID-19 and healthy group, leading to the accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 biased codons, which facilitate SARS-CoV-2 replication. Finally, several pneumonia-related microorganisms were detected in the plasma of COVID-19 patients, raising the possibility of simultaneously monitoring immune response regulation and microbial communities using cfRNA analysis. This study fills the knowledge gap in the plasma cfRNA landscape of COVID-19 patients and offers insight into the potential mechanisms of cfRNAs to explain COVID-19 pathogenesis.