ALTERATION OF IMMUNOMARKERS AND RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH IN COVID-19 PATIENTS
Main Article Content
Keywords
COVID-19, Immunomarkers, Cytokines, Telomere Length, ARDS
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and led to a global pandemic. The first case of COVID-19 in Pakistan was reported from Karachi on February 26, 2020, since then 1,523,590 cases have been reported with an increasing death toll of 30,340 as of March 2022. Most of the patients showed several mild to moderate symptoms and recovered without the need to be hospitalized. However, a significant number developed severe symptoms like pneumonia leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with severe medicals complications. The current study investigates the expression of cytokines IL6, IL8, and IL17 in COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe symptoms and patients ventilated due to ARDS concerning in relation to their leukocyte telomere length. 73% of the patients included in this study were male, among them 44% were >60 years. The occurrence of ARDS was observed to be 15.6–31% higher compared to other organ injuries. One of the key factors involved in ARDS is the concomitant increased release of cytokines like IL6, IL8, IL17, etc also known as the cytokine storm, contributing to severity of the disease. Our results show that COVID-19 positive individuals with underlying health conditions and old age showing severe symptoms have increased levels of proinflammatory serum interleukins IL6, IL8, and IL17 by ~6000%, ~2000%, and ~300% respectively. In individuals ventilated due to ARDS, an inverse correlation was seen between critical shortening of leukocyte telomere length and increased levels of interleukins IL6 (r=-.541, p=0.004), IL8 (r=-.235, p=0.009), and IL17(r=-.137, p=0.014). An increase of ~10,000%, ~2,900, and ~600% in comparison with the normal range were seen in IL6, IL8, and IL17 levels respectively with an enhanced manifestation of disease irrespective of comorbidities and age, suggesting that genetic factors are at play.
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Feb 16, 2024
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Noor Ul Ain Malik, Aftab Ahmad, Muhammad Abubakar, Dr Khawar Malik, Ayesha Mehboob, Nazia Rehman, Nasim Akhtar, & Habib Bokhari. (2024). ALTERATION OF IMMUNOMARKERS AND RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH IN COVID-19 PATIENTS. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 31(2), 776-789. https://doi.org/10.53555/jptcp.v31i2.4399
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Author Biographies
Noor Ul Ain Malik
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Park Rd, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan
Aftab Ahmad
Department of Biosciences, Kohsar University Murree, Murree 47150, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Abubakar
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Park Rd, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan
Dr Khawar Malik
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Ibn-e-Sina Rd, G-8/3 G 8/3 G-8, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan
Ayesha Mehboob
Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Lethrar Road, Islamabad, Pakistan
Nazia Rehman
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Park Rd, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan
Nasim Akhtar
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Ibn-e-Sina Rd, G-8/3 G 8/3 G-8, Islamabad Capital Territory 45550, Pakistan
Habib Bokhari
Department of Biosciences, Kohsar University Murree, Murree 47150, Punjab, Pakistan
How to Cite
Noor Ul Ain Malik, Aftab Ahmad, Muhammad Abubakar, Dr Khawar Malik, Ayesha Mehboob, Nazia Rehman, Nasim Akhtar, & Habib Bokhari. (2024). ALTERATION OF IMMUNOMARKERS AND RELATIVE TELOMERE LENGTH IN COVID-19 PATIENTS. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 31(2), 776-789. https://doi.org/10.53555/jptcp.v31i2.4399