Elevated Serum Levels of Progranulin and Soluble Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 in Patients with COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with the angiocentric inflammation and angiogenesis, yet the molecules involved in this process remain to be determined. METHODS: We did a cross-sectional study of a cohort of patients with COVID-19 in Zunyi, China between February 1 and March 30, 2020. Serum concentrations of PGRN were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patients with COVID-19 at hospital admission and at discharge. In parallel, the serum levels of soluble adhesion molecules, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), P-selectin (sP-selectin), and E-selectin (sE-selectin) were assayed by a human adhesion molecule multiplex kit. The association between serum PGRN levels and other laboratory test results was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, the median serum PGRN levels in patients with COVID-19 were 94.8 ng/mL [interquartile range (IQR): 66.6–119.6 ng/mL], which was significantly elevated compared with those in healthy controls (46.3 ng/mL, IQR: 41.8–55.6 ng/mL). Moreover, the median serum sVCAM-1 levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients (1396.0 ng/mL, IQR: 1019.1–1774.8 ng/mL) than those in healthy controls (612.4 ng/mL, IQR: 466.4–689.3 ng/mL). However, the levels of sICAM-1, sP-selectin, and sE-selectin were not significantly elevated in patients with COVID-19 when compared to healthy controls. Further analysis showed that serum PGRN levels were significantly positively associated with sVCAM-1 (r= 0.675, P= 0.008) and inversely with sICAM-1 (r= −0.609, P= 0.021) and aspartate aminotransferase levels (r= −0.560, P= 0.037) in patients with COVID-19 at hospital admission. In COVID-19 patients, serum PGRN and sVCAM-1 levels fell significantly after successful treatment. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates elevated serum PGRN and sVCAM-1 levels in patients with COVID-19, which may provide clues as to the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential of PGRN and sVCAM-1 as biomarkers and investigate their role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19.