Different cytokine and chemokine profiles in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 during the first and second outbreaks from Argentina show no association with clinical comorbidities

ALMADA, LAURA; ANGIOLINI, SOFÍA CARLA; DHO, NICOLÁS DANIEL; DUTTO, JEREMÍAS; GAZZONI, YAMILA; MANZONE-RODRÍGUEZ, CLARISA; MARÍN, CONSTANZA; PONCE, NICOLÁS ERIC; ARROYO, DANIELA SOLEDAD; QUIRÓZ, JUAN NAHUEL; IRIBARREN, PABLO; CERBÁN, FABIO MARCELO; MORÓN, GABRIEL; AMEZCUA VESELY, MARÍA CAROLINA; CERVI, LAURA; CHIAPELLO, LAURA SILVINA; FOZZATTI, LAURA; ICELY, PAULA ALEJANDRA; MACCIONI, MARIANA; MONTES, CAROLINA LUCIA; MOTRÁN, CLAUDIA CRISTINA; RODRÍGUEZ-GALÁN, MARÍA CECILIA; STEMPIN, CINTHIA CAROLINA; VIANO, MARÍA ESTEFANÍA; MENA, CRISTIAN; BERTONE, MARIANA; ABIEGA, CLAUDIO DANIEL; ESCUDERO, DAIANA; KAHN, ADRIÁN; CAEIRO, JUAN PABLO; MALETTO, BELKYS ANGÉLICA; ACOSTA RODRÍGUEZ, EVA VIRGINIA; GRUPPI, ADRIANA; SOTOMAYOR, CLAUDIA ELENA

Frontiers in Immunology

FRONTIERS Media S.A.

Año: 2023 vol. 14

Background: COVID-19 severity has been linked to an increased production ofinflammatory mediators called “cytokine storm”. Available data is mainly restrictedto the first international outbreak and reports highly variable results. This studycompares demographic and clinical features of patients with COVID-19 fromCórdoba, Argentina, during the first two waves of the pandemic and analyzesassociation between comorbidities and disease outcome with the “cytokinestorm”, offering added value to the field.Methods: We investigated serum concentration of thirteen soluble mediators,including cytokines and chemokines, in hospitalized patients with moderate andsevere COVID-19, without previous rheumatic and autoimmune diseases, from thecentral region of Argentina during the first and second infection waves. Samplesfrom healthy controls were also assayed. Clinical and biochemical parameterswere collected.Results: Comparison between the two first COVID-19 waves in Argentina highlightedthat patients recruited during the second wave were younger and showed lessconcurrent comorbidities than those from the first outbreak. We also recognizedparticularities in the signatures of systemic cytokines and chemokines in patients fromboth infection waves. We determined that concurrent pre-existing comorbidities didnot have contribution to serum concentration of systemic cytokines and chemokinesin COVID-19 patients. We also identified immunological and biochemical parametersassociated to inflammation which can be used as prognostic markers. Thus, IL-6concentration, C reactive protein level and platelet count allowed to discriminatebetween death and discharge in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 onlyduring the first but not the second wave.Conclusions: Our data provide information that deepens our understanding ofCOVID-19 pathogenesis linking demographic features of a COVID-19 cohort withcytokines and chemokines systemic concentration, presence of comorbidities anddifferent disease outcomes. Altogether, our findings provide information not onlyat local level by delineating inflammatory/anti-inflammatory response of patientsbut also at international level addressing the impact of comorbidities and theinfection wave in the variability of cytokine and chemokine production upon SARSCoV-2 infection.KEYWORDS