Intracellular peptides in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients

Author(s)

Martucci, Luiz Felipe ; Eichler, Rosangela A. S. ; Silva, Renee N. O. ; Costa, Tiago J. ; Tostes, Rita C. ; Busatto, Geraldo F. ; Seelaender, Marilia C. L. ; Duarte, Alberto J. S. ; Souza, Heraldo P. ; Ferro, Emer S.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ISCIENCE; v. 26, n. 9, p. 17-pg., 2023-09-15.

Abstract

Intracellular peptides (InPeps) generated by the orchestrated action of the proteasome and intracellular peptidases have biological and pharmacological sig-nificance. Here, human plasma relative concentration of specific InPeps was compared between 175 patients infected with severe acute respiratory syn-drome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and 45 SARS-CoV-2 non-infected patients; 2,466 unique peptides were identified, of which 67% were InPeps. The results re-vealed differences of a specific group of peptides in human plasma comparing non-infected individuals to patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, following the re-sults of the semi-quantitative analyses by isotope-labeled electrospray mass spectrometry. The protein-protein interactions networks enriched pathways, drawn by genes encoding the proteins from which the peptides originated, re-vealed the presence of the coronavirus disease/COVID-19 network solely in the group of patients fatally infected by SARS-CoV-2. Thus, modulation of the rela-tive plasma levels of specific InPeps could be employed as a predictive tool for disease outcome. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/08216-2 - CRID - Center for Research in Inflammatory Diseases
• Grantee: Fernando de Queiroz Cunha
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC
• FAPESP's process: 16/04000-3 - Pharmacology of oligopeptidases and intracellular peptides
• Grantee: Emer Suavinho Ferro
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/25116-2 - Role of O-GlcNacylation (O-GlcNAc) on the expression and function of classical estrogen receptor alpha (ERa66kDa) and splice variant of estrogen receptor alpha (ERa36kDa) in the common carotid artery of aging mice
• Grantee: Tiago Januário da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral