Evaluation of protein C and S levels in patients with COVID-19 infection and their relation to disease severity.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with millions of deaths around the world. One of the important causes of death associated with COVID-19 was pulmonary thromboembolism. The risk for venous thromboembolism was markedly increased in patients with COVID-19 especially those admitted to the intensive care unit. The aims of our study were to measure the protein C and S levels in COVID-19-infected patients in comparison with the normal population and to assess the correlation of protein C and S levels in the plasma to the severity of infection. Methods: This was a case-control study measuring the protein C and S levels in patients infected with COVID-19 at the time of diagnosis compared to the normal population. The study included one hundred participants, sixty of them are patients with COVID-19, and forty of them are normal healthy adults. The patient group was subclassified into three subgroups according to disease severity: mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 infections. Results: The activity of protein C in the patient group serum was significantly lower than that in the control group serum (79.35 ± 26.017 vs 97.43 ± 15.007; p < 0.001). Protein S is also significantly decreased in patients' serum when compared to the control group (70.233 ± 22.476 vs 91 ± 14.498; p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant decrease in the levels of protein C and S associated with the increase in disease severity (p < 0.05). However, protein S showed no statistically significant difference between the moderate and severe disease subgroups. Conclusion: The study concluded that the levels of protein C and S activities were both decreased in patients with COVID-19 when compared to the healthy population. It also concluded that the decrease in their levels is statistically significant in relation to the disease severity.

Talin-1; other than a potential marker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Talin-1 was previously proposed as a potential novel biomarker for HCC diagnosis but with limited and inconsistent data. We aimed to study the possible role of talin-1 in diagnosis and prognostic stratification of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-six patients were recruited and classified into three groups; 1) cirrhosis group: 40 patients with liver cirrhosis, 2) HCC group: 40 patients with HCC, 3) control group: 16 healthy volunteers with matched age and sex. Serum talin-1 level was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The highest levels of talin-1 were observed among the HCC group followed by cirrhosis then control groups (p = 0.000). In the HCC group, a significant correlation was found between talin-1 and each of multifocal HCC (p = 0.013), portal vein invasion (p = 0.022) and presence of ascites (p = 0.001), while no significant correlation was detected with tumour foci size (p = 0.605). For HCC detection, talin-1 had AUC = 0.858, 100% sensitivity and 65% specificity, while AFP had AUC = 1.000, 100% sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: Talin-1 is a potential marker for diagnosis and prognostic assessment of HCC. Further studies are needed to investigate the ultimate diagnostic and prognostic utility of serum talin-1.