Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), is a human respiratory disease. Hitherto, there is no effective treatment has been established. Patients with cardiovascular or diabetes comorbidities are a high-risk cohort. COVID-19 is accompanied by excessive systemic thrombotic events, but the mechanism is not yet known. Recent studies have indicated that thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP) plays an important role in platelet activation, thrombosis, and TYMP expression is increased in diabetic patients. By using data provided by the MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital) Emergency Department COVID-19 Cohort with Olink Proteomics, here we show that plasma TYMP level is correlated with the COVID-19 associated thrombotic event, inflammation, and organ damage, as evidenced by the positive correlations with plasma D-dimer, CRP (C reactive protein), and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), as well as Interferons (IFN). Plasma TYMP is also positively correlated with COVID-19 patients who had respiratory symptoms. TYMP thus could be an acuity marker for COVID-19 diagnosis. Targeting TYMP with tipiracil, a selective TYMP inhibitor, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use, could be a novel effective medicine for COVID-19.
Highlights
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]
Samples collected from 358 patients (284 are COVID-19) on day 0, 202 patients (197 are COVID-19) on day 3, and 131 patients on day 7, as well as 42 patients who died from COVID-19 within 28 days, were extracted for analyzing thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP) expression
We found plasma TYMP were significantly increased in COVID-19 patients on day 0, 3, and 7 when compared with non-COVID-19 patients (Figure 1A)
Summary
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. Large-scale reports have characterized the symptoms, comorbidities, and clinical outcomes, and patients with cardiovascular- or diabetes-associated comorbidities are at a higher risk to develop advanced COVID-19 and need admission to intensive care (ICU) [2,3,4,5]. While COVID-19 vaccines are distributing around the world, the long-term efficiency is unknown. Patients with advanced COVID-19 often die from acute respiratory distress syndrome or multiorgan failure [7]. SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke [10].
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