ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread around the world causing a pandemic known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Cytokine storm was directly correlated with severity of COVID-19 syndromes. We evaluated the levels of 13 cytokines in ICU hospitalized COVID-19 patients (n=29) before, and after treatment with Remdesivir as well as in healthy controls (n=29). Blood samples were obtained from ICU patients during ICU admission (before treatment) and 5 days after treatment with Remdesivir. A group of 29 age- and gender-matched healthy controls was also studied. Cytokine levels were evaluated by multiplex immunoassay method using a fluorescence labeled cytokine panel. In comparison to cytokine levels measured at ICU admission, serum levels were reduced of IL-6 (134.75 pg/mL vs. 20.73 pg/mL, P< 0.0001), TNF-α (121.67 pg/mL vs. 10.15 pg/mL, P< 0.0001) and IFN-γ (29.69 pg/mL vs. 22.27 pg/mL, P= 0.005), whereas serum level was increased of IL-4 (8.47 pg/mL vs. 12.44 pg/mL, P= 0.002) within 5 days after Remdesivir treatment. Comparing with before treatment, Remdesivir significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory (258.98 pg/mL vs. 37.43 pg/mL, P< 0.0001), Th1-type (31.24 pg/mL vs. 24.46 pg/mL, P= 0.007), and Th17-type (36.79 pg/mL vs. 26.22 pg/mL, P< 0.0001) cytokines in critical COVID-19 patients. However, after Remdesivir treatment, the concentrations of Th2-type cytokines were significantly higher than before treatment (52.69 pg/mL vs. 37.09 pg/mL, P< 0.0001). In conclusion, Remdesivir led to decrease levels of Th1-type and Th17-type cytokines and increase Th2-type cytokines in critical COVID-19 patients 5 days after treatment.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent Coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). OBJECTIVES: To compare the antibody response of healthy individuals vaccinated with either the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) or the Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) vaccine, in those who had no prior infection with SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: Thirty seven participants were included, of which 17 were administered the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine, while 20 were given the Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody and anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG levels were checked 4 weeks after giving the first and the second dose of either vaccine using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. RESULTS: The AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine exhibited a higher levels of anti-(RBD) IgG compared with the Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) in both the first (14.51 µg/ml vs. 1.160 µg/ml) and the second (46.68 µg/ml vs. 11.43 µg/ml) doses. About neutralizing Abs, the titer of the antibody was higher in the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) recipients than in the Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) subjects after the first (7.77 µg/ml vs. 1.79 µg/ml, p < 0.0001) and the second dose (10. 36 µg/ml vs. 4.88 µg/ml, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Recipients vaccinated with two doses of the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) had superior quantitative antibody levels than Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV)-vaccinated subjects. These data suggest that a booster dose may be needed for the Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) recipients, to control the COVID-19 pandemic.