Prospective evaluation of the production of lipid mediators in the immune response against COVID-19: search for biomarkers and new therapeutic targets in the evolution of the disease

Due to the great spread of the new SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, we are experiencing a pandemic. COVID-19 disease, caused by this coronavirus, can have moderate to severe complications, especially in male, elderly and / or patients with underlying diseases. Severe cases have a "cytokine storm", with an exacerbated inflammatory response in the lung, the organ most affected. This project therefore seeks to identify molecular factors of susceptibility and resistance, as well as biomarkers of susceptibility and clinical evolution in COVID-19. To this end, we will investigate the inflammatory profile of patients by detecting and quantifying lipid mediators, including eicosanoids, steroid hormones and compounds derived from sphingolipids and ceramides, to seek a possible association with the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 and with components of the immune response, such as cytokines , chemokines and N-glycans profiles of IgE Ecs. In a case-control study approach, control participants (non-infected and asymptomatic) and patients treated at Hospital São Paulo in the city of Ribeirão Preto will be recruited, who will be evaluated clinically and laboratory by the doctors responsible for the care; evidence of infection with SARS-COV-2 will be made in all participants. Plasma and leukocytes (buffy coat) will be obtained from the blood of participants. Protein inflammatory mediators will be quantified in plasma, as well as eicosanoids, steroid hormones, sphingolipid-derived compounds and ceramides. Therefore, through the use of mass spectrometry, we propose a multidisciplinary approach to identify lipid biomarkers related to the inflammatory process in COVID-19. The profiles of N-glycans in the IgG Fcs will be evaluated, according to the team's previous experience. The cells obtained will be frozen in Trizol, for subsequent RNA extraction and analysis of gene expression. With these results, it is expected to understand in more detail, the pathophysiology of COVID-19, to establish markers of disease evolution and morbidity, as well as new targets for therapeutic interventions in patients infected with SARS-VOC-2.