Prediction of survival odds in COVID-19 by zinc, age and selenoprotein P as composite biomarker.

Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany; HTRG, Heidelberg Trauma Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Spinal Cord Injury, Heidelberg University Hospital, D-69118, Heidelberg, Germany; Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: raban.heller@charite.de. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: qian.sun@charite.de. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: julian.hackler@charite.de. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: julian.seelig@charite.de. ATORG, Aschaffenburg Trauma and Orthopedic Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, D-63739, Aschaffenburg, Germany. Electronic address: linda-glaab@t-online.de. ATORG, Aschaffenburg Trauma and Orthopedic Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, D-63739, Aschaffenburg, Germany. Electronic address: asan.cherkezov@stud-mail.uni-wuerzburg.de. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: waldemar.minich@charite.de. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: petra.seemann@charite.de. ATORG, Aschaffenburg Trauma and Orthopedic Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, D-63739, Aschaffenburg, Germany. Electronic address: Joachim.Diegmann@klinikum-ab-alz.de. Institute of Medical Biometry and Informatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: pilz@imbi.uni-heidelberg.de. ATORG, Aschaffenburg Trauma and Orthopedic Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, D-63739, Aschaffenburg, Germany. Electronic address: manuel.bachmann.md@gmail.com. Department of Allergy and Immunology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Institute of Interventional Allergology und Immunology, Bonn, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: alireza.ranjbar@web.de. ATORG, Aschaffenburg Trauma and Orthopedic Research Group, Center for Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital Aschaffenburg-Alzenau, D-63739, Aschaffenburg, Germany. Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, And Berlin Institute of Health, D-13353, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: lutz.schomburg@charite.de.

Redox biology. 2021;:101764
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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infections cause the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and challenge the immune system with ongoing inflammation. Several redox-relevant micronutrients are known to contribute to an adequate immune response, including the essential trace elements zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that COVID-19 patients are characterised by Zn deficiency and that Zn status provides prognostic information. Serum Zn was determined in serum samples (n = 171) collected consecutively from patients surviving COVID-19 (n = 29) or non-survivors (n = 6). Data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study were used for comparison. Zn concentrations in patient samples were low as compared to healthy subjects (mean ± SD; 717.4 ± 246.2 vs 975.7 ± 294.0 μg/L, P < 0.0001). The majority of serum samples collected at different time points from the non-survivors (25/34, i.e., 73.5%) and almost half of the samples collected from the survivors (56/137, i.e., 40.9%) were below the threshold for Zn deficiency, i.e., below 638.7 μg/L (the 2.5th percentile in the EPIC cohort). In view that the Se status biomarker and Se transporter selenoprotein P (SELENOP) is also particularly low in COVID-19, we tested the prevalence of a combined deficit, i.e., serum Zn below 638.7 μg/L and serum SELENOP below 2.56 mg/L. This combined deficit was observed in 0.15% of samples in the EPIC cohort of healthy subjects, in 19.7% of the samples collected from the surviving COVID-19 patients and in 50.0% of samples from the non-survivors. Accordingly, the composite biomarker (SELENOP and Zn with age) proved as a reliable indicator of survival in COVID-19 by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, yielding an area under the curve (AUC) of 94.42%. We conclude that Zn and SELENOP status within the reference ranges indicate high survival odds in COVID-19, and assume that correcting a diagnostically proven deficit in Se and/or Zn by a personalised supplementation may support convalescence.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Clinical Trial

Metadata

MeSH terms : P-Selectin ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Zinc