A cross sectional study to assess the elevation in glucose regulated protein 78 levels in severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 infected patients and its correlation with metabolic conditions, severity, complications

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: COVID-19 pandemic has posed an exceptional challenge worldwide. Research encompassing newer diagnostic tests, targeted therapy has become the need of the hour. The objective of this work is to evaluate the levels of Glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) an Endoplasmic Reticulum stress (ERS) protein in Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2 (SARS -CoV-2) infected patients.   Materials and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional investigation at the hospital, with three distinct groups: SARS-CoV-2-positive patients with metabolic syndrome (Group A), SARS-CoV-2-positive patients without metabolic abnormalities (Group B), and healthy volunteers (Group C). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to estimate the serum levels of GRP78.   Results: Our results showed that serum GRP78 levels were elevated in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that Group A had considerably higher serum GRP78 levels than Groups B and C suggesting an elevated GRP78 levels in COVID-19 patients with metabolic syndrome These findings highlight the clinical importance of GRP78 in COVID-19 and its utility as a marker for severity of the illness.   Conclusion: This work compares the trend of serum GRP78 levels in SARS-CoV-2 patients with and without metabolic conditions as compared to the control group. This finding encourages more research on GRP78 to aid the development of targeted therapeutic and prophylactic interventions to combat COVID-19 infection.