Comparative Clinical, Proteomic, and Serologic Evaluation in Non-Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients and Healthy Individuals Publisher



Alihosseini S¹ ; Zali H² ; Majd A³ ; Movahedi M¹ ; Abdollahi H⁴
Source: Current Proteomics Published:2025

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has had a significant global impact since its declaration as a public health emergency in January 2020. Symptoms of COVID-19 can range from mild to severe, including fever, cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. This study aimed to investigate the clinical symptoms and proteomic differences between non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients and healthy individuals. Method: Clinical data of 6231 COVID-19 patients of different age groups and sexes were collected and analyzed. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and identified by MALDI-TOF. 900 serum samples were collected, with 100 samples per patient group and one healthy control group. Result: In the control group of healthy individuals, five proteins (HAPTO, IGKC, FUT10, CO3, SESQ2) were expressed with a score of 1+, serving as a reference for the other groups. Group 9, consisting of individuals who had recovered (IgG positive), showed negative results for all five proteins due to anti-IgG antibody production in memory cells. The significant differences in protein expression compared to the control group indicated up-regulation and down-regulation of these proteins. Positive PCR or IgG and IgM results led to notable differences in protein expression across all studied groups. Conclusion: The altered protein expression in infected individuals compared to healthy controls may suggest the potential for these proteins to serve as biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. © 2024 Bentham Science Publishers.