Assessment of Humoral Response at SARS-CoV‑2 Infection by Multipronged Functional Proteomics Approaches

In
the past decade, a major goal in biomedical research
has been
to understand why individuals differ in disease susceptibility, disease
dynamics, and progression. In many pathologies, this variability stems
from evolved immune mechanisms that resist inflammatory stress from
various diseases that have been encountered throughout life. These
may provide advantages against other diseases, reduce comorbidities,
and enhance longevity. This study evaluates prior immunity as a prognostic
factor in COVID-19 patients, crucial for understanding plasmatic signaling
cascades in different disease stages and their impact on disease progression.
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, primarily affects the respiratory
system and presents a wide range of symptoms, posing significant challenges
to medicine. This study systematically analyzed prior immunity and
inflammation in two independent cohorts of infected patients. A serological
profile is determined by protein microarrays, which identify IgM and
IgG responses against 37 prevalent microbial pathogens and provide
a comprehensive plasma analysis of 21 acute-phase proteins. Our results
reveal distinct serological profiles correlating with disease severity,
indicating that immune system dysregulation in COVID-19 patients is
linked to existing immunity. These findings highlight the relevance
of prior immunity for monitoring disease progression, particularly
in infections and vaccine failure, and underscore the importance of
functional proteomics in determining prognostic biomarkers.