Discovery: Early Biomarkers Predict Severe COVID-19

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic posed significant challenges worldwide and raised critical questions in the scientific community. While some individuals experienced mild or asymptomatic infections, others faced severe or critical disease progression with a high mortality rate, peaking in 30 % mortality of patients aged 85 or older. The need for rapid biomarker discovery for early prediction of COVID-19 progression became evident from the outset of the pandemic.

At Sciomics, we continuously develop and optimize specific antibody microarray platforms for in-house protein and post-translational modification profiling, establishing ourselves as a world leader in microarray-based biomarker discovery. In a recent study published in Nature Communications Medicine, we leveraged our expertise to identify early predictive biomarkers for COVID-19.

In the study, we analyzed 351 proteins in 53 human plasma samples at different infection stages. We identified proteins with varying abundances in patients with severe/critical and mild/moderate disease. Building on this, we analyzed 998 proteins in a larger cohort of 94 patients, leading to the selection of eleven promising biomarkers capable of predicting severe COVID-19.

We successfully established multiple biomarker panels, offering the potential to predict disease progression early and reliably stratify patients in clinical settings. The most promising biomarker panel identified consists of three proteins: S100A8/A9, TSP1, and ERBB2. We are actively working on validating these panels in COVID-19, Long Covid and other viral diseases of the respiratory system.

Early patient stratification for those at high risk of developing severe or critical disease could significantly improve treatment decisions, ultimately easing the burden on healthcare systems and leading to an improved pandemic preparedness. This biomarker signature showcases the use of biomarkers to predict disease progression and gain insights into disease mechanisms simultaneously.

Providing a bigger picture, unbiased or semi-targeted monitoring of the systemic response to a disease can shed light on diverse patient outcomes without prior knowledge of underlying mechanisms. Through antibody microarrays, thousands of proteins in various blood components can be examined simultaneously in a minimally invasive, low-volume, rapid, and less biased manner.

For more in-depth information on this biomarker discovery study for COVID-19, you can access the publication here.

 

Hufnagel, K., Fathi, A., Stroh, N., Klein, M., Skwirblies, F., Girgis, R., Dahlke, C., Hoheisel, J. D., Lowy, C., Schmidt, R., Griesbeck, A., Merle, U., Addo, M. M., & Schröder, C. 2023. Discovery and systematic assessment of early biomarkers that predict progression to severe COVID-19 disease. Communications medicine, 3(1), 51. DOI: 10.1038/s43856-023-00283-z

Published: 28 Nov 2023

 

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scioPhospho: protein profiling and phosphorylation status

scioPhospho: protein profiling and phosphorylation status

Our scioPhospho analysis combines protein expression profiling using scioDiscover with analysis of the corresponding protein's phosphorylation status. More than 1,400 proteins are analyzed in parallel, covering key pathways in diseases…
scioUbi: protein profiling and ubiquitination status

scioUbi: protein profiling and ubiquitination status

Protein & ubiquitination profiling scioUbi is a high-content protein expression and ubiquitination level analysis. With scioUbi you can analyse more than 1,400 proteins in a single assay.   Features Screen…
scioDiscover - Protein Profiling on the Expression Level

scioDiscover - Protein Profiling on the Expression Level

Knowledge about protein expression levels is of utmost importance to predict toxic effects, estimate adverse effects of drug candidates and to identify new drug targets. Sciomics has a highly optimised…
scioCD - Cell Surface Marker and Cytokine Profiling

scioCD - Cell Surface Marker and Cytokine Profiling

Immune response profiling Cellular composition and signalling CD-Marker Expression Profiles       Our scioCD profiling service covers 349 different proteins : up to 141 unique CD-marker molecules up to 119…
scioCyto : Cytokine Profiling

scioCyto : Cytokine Profiling

scioCyto : Cytokine profiling scioCyto is a high-content analysis service for multiplex cytokine and chemokine profiling on protein level. A great variety of samples such as plasma, tissue, cells or cell…

News

Article | Exploration of Novel Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases

| December 2024 | Biomarker candidates for neurodegenerative diseases were identified by combining an exploratory proteomic approach with quantitative ligand-binding assays. Sciomics supported this study by proteomic screening of plasma and CSF samples of patients with different neurodegenerative diseases using the scioDiscover microarray platform.

Kenzelmann A, et al.. Exploration of Novel Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Proteomic Analysis and Ligand-Binding Assays. Biomedicines. 2024;12(12):2794.  
Meeting | Sciomics @ BIO-Europe Spring 25

| March 16-19 2025 | Meet Dr. Christoph Schröder at BIO-Europe Spring in Milano to learn about our biomarker development pipeline and our protein profiling services in pre-clinical research

Article | Altered Serum Proteins indicate Inflammation, Fibrogenesis and Angiogenesis in Fontan Patients

| September 2024 | Four identified serum proteins may advance diagnostic and therapeutic approaches by complementing traditional diagnostic laboratory variables. Sciomics contributed to this study by ScioCD serum analysis targeting diferent CD surface markers, cytokines and chemokines.

Michel M, Renaud D, Schmidt R, et al. Altered Serum Proteins Suggest Inflammation, Fibrogenesis and Angiogenesis in Adult Patients with a Fontan Circulation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024; 25(10):5416
 
Article | Vago-splenic signal transduction of cardioprotection in humans

| April 2024 | The spleen as a relay organ as well as the vagal innervation determine cardioprotective signal transduction of Remote Ischaemic Conditioning (RIC) and Auricular Tragus Stimulation (ATS). Sciomics contributed to this study by analysing plasma-dialysate samples using the ScioDiscover microarray platform.

Lieder HR, Paket U, Skyschally A, et al. Vago-splenic signal transduction of cardioprotection in humans. Eur Heart J. 2024;45(34):3164-3177. 
Article | Endothelial Notch1 signaling in white adipose tissue promotes cancer cachexia

| September 2023 | Article: Endothelial Notch1 signaling in white adipose tissue promotes cancer cachexia. Sciomics supported this study by scioCyto serum analysis in a mouse cancer model.

Taylor, J., Uhl, L., Moll, I. et al. Endothelial Notch1 signaling in white adipose tissue promotes cancer cachexia. Nat Cancer 4, 1544–1560 (2023)

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