Patobiologia dos pacientes com síndrome gripal leve e moderada da COVID-19 em comparação com pacientes sem COVID-19 e controles saudáveis

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections are one of the leading causes of hospitalization worldwide. At the end of 2019, in the city of Wuhan/China, a disease of viral etiology, caused by SARSCoV-2, spread around the world and the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the WHO. COVID-19 is a disease that presents a clinical picture that varies from asymptomatic infections to severe respiratory conditions, thus, several biomarkers have been evaluated as predictors of severity or to direct its their treatment, however, this relationship is not yet well established. In this study, we evaluated the serum levels of cytokines, chemokines and cell growth factors associated with the pathobiology of COVID-19 in symptomatic individuals for mild to moderate flu syndrome who sought outpatient hospital care, which could act as inflammatory biomarkers of the disease. These levels were compared between individuals divided into 3 groups, they are: 113 positives for COVID-19; 58 negatives for COVID-19 (both groups confirmed by RT-qPCR testing of nasal swab samples); and 53 asymptomatic participants (control group). Symptomatic participants negative for SARS-CoV-2 also had their samples checked for the presence of other viruses that cause respiratory diseases (Influenza A, B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus). As a result of the analyses, it was found that a profile of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, MCP-3, TNF-α and G-CSF, were elevated in participants with mild to moderate flu-like symptoms, while IL-10 and IL-6 were associated only with the presence of SARS-CoV-2 when compared to asymptomatic individuals. Individuals with COVID-19 had an association with symptoms of fever, anosmia, ageusia, and myalgia, however, symptomatic non-COVID-19 participants had a prevalence of sore throat. In addition, 5% (4/83) of samples from participants who tested negative for COVID-19 tested positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus. The data provided by the research, when associated with the characterization of the pathobiology of mild to moderate disease, provide elements for the characterization of the influence of pro- and antiinflammatory biological changes in the clinical evaluation of COVID-19.