Lipidomics evaluation of the plasma of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and its relationship with the development of kidney damage

• Grant number: 21/14599-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra Sussulini
• Grantee: Patrick Cesar Ferreira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health emergency. Although vaccination campaigns have opened a new chapter in the battle against SARS-CoV-2, the world still urgently needs strategies to face the complications that this virus can cause. In fact, although the lung is the most affected organ, the appearance of renal dysfunctions, such as proteinuria, hematuria and the development of acute kidney injury (AKI), has been reported in critically ill patients and is related to higher mortality rates. The exact mechanisms of renal involvement in COVID-19 are not fully understood and are under wide discussion. At the molecular level, it is known that viral infections are known to alter the lipid profile and, consequently, the lipid metabolism of the host. As lipids perform important metabolic functions, studying the changes in these biomolecules in COVID-19 is a fundamental step in trying to understand the pathogenesis of the disease. Thus, the aim of this project is to investigate the lipidomic changes that occur during SARS-CoV-2 infection in the plasma of patients who developed renal complications. To this end, through the use of liquid chromatography techniques coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS), we will propose a multidisciplinary approach based on untargeted lipidomics, in order to obtain biological interpretations that can be used to clarify the lipid mechanisms responsible for renal involvement in COVID-19, paving the way for the development of public health strategies.