Abstract 9960: Soluble Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-related Protein-1 Levels As A Potential Biomarker In Covid19

Abstract

Introduction: Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), is a multifunctional receptor. Soluble form (sLRP1) is measurable as a novel biomarker of inflammation and atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that sLRP1 levels can be associated with Covid19 disease onset and severity. Methods: We measured sLRP1 levels in 180 PCR positive, Covid19 patients admitted to the hospital (mean age 60± 19, M/F = 51/49). Controls (n=61) were selected from outpatients without significant comobidities. Results: Covid19 patients display significantly lower sLRP1 levels compared to the controls (p<0.001). Covid19 patients are stratified based on the severity of Covid19 such as emergency room (n=44), inpatient service (n=95) and intensive care (n=41). Median sLRP1 levels are 2.27, 1.26, 1.36, and 1.73 μg/ml for controls, emergency room, inpatient service and intensive care patients, respectively. sLRP1 levels rise as severity of Covid19 increases (p= 0.022) (Figure 1). Other biomarkers of inflammation such as CRP display similar trends (Figure 2). Median hsCRP levels are 8.2, 10.2 and 16.4 mg/L for emergency room, service and intensive care patients respectively (p<0.001). Conclusions: Previous studies indicate that LRP1 can be a defense mechanism in acute viral infections. Eliminating LRP1 by siRNA knockdown increases intracellular cholesterol and the infectious virus yield. LRP1 displays a bidirectional course in Covid19. Low sLRP1 can be a risk factor for Covid19. On the other hand, sLRP1 levels increase with disease severity as a defense response to infection. This work was supported by the Research Fund of Istanbul Medeniyet University (project number 1358).