Lipidomic analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry for molecular profile determination in plasma of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2

• Grant number: 20/08534-8
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal researcher: Lúcia Helena Faccioli
• Grantee: Malena Martínez Pérez
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/05207-6 - Prospective evaluation of lipid mediators production on the immune response against COVID-19: search for biomarkers and new therapeutic targets in the evolution of the disease, AP.R

Abstract

Lipids are extremely important classes of molecules, not only because they act as a source of energy or constituents of the biological membrane, but also they regulate a range of biological processes important for the maintenance of cellular functions. Thus, the analysis of lipids in biological responses and how they are modulated, allowing a greater understanding of these phenomena. Also, it allows for promising discoveries in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. The study of lipids, their abundance, biological activities, subcellular location and distribution in tissues is called lipidomics. Together with genomics and proteomics, this is one of the fields of research that is undergoing great and rapid expansion, due to the recent advances in analytical techniques, especially Mass Spectrometry (MS), improvements in ionization modes, and experiments in sequential mass spectrometry (MS/MS) that consent new applications in different scientific approaches. The combination of ion mobility spectrometry with MS (DMS) has shown a growing promise for lipidomic analysis, as it allows the discrimination of isomerized ionized biomolecules with the same fragmentation profile. The disease caused by COVID-19, can lead to asymptomatic complications, even moderate and severe, especially in males, elderly, and/or patients who already had cardiological, pulmonary, or metabolic diseases. In this context, we seek to identify molecular lipid factors related to the susceptibility and resistance of COVID-19. For this, blood from groups of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 will be obtained, centrifuged and separated from the plasma, which through the use of mass spectrometry, we will propose a multidisciplinary approach to identify lipid biomarkers related to the inflammatory process in COVID-19. Thus, we may be able to suggest new treatments for COVID-19, since those currently employed do not yet have satisfactory therapeutic efficacy, in addition to low selectivity. (AU)