Liquid Biopsy Allows Monitoring of COVID-19 Damage to Cells, Tissues, and Organs
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 09 Feb 2021 |
Image: Transmission electron microscope image showing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the laboratory (Photo courtesy of US NIAID, via Wikimedia Commons)
A recent study presented results that point to the utility of exploiting cell-free DNA as an analyte to monitor the damage caused to cells, tissues, and organs by COVID-19.
While COVID-19 primarily affects the lungs, evidence of systemic disease with multi-organ involvement has emerged. In order to better understand this phenomenon, investigators at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) and colleagues in the United States and Canada developed a blood test to broadly quantify cell, tissue, and organ specific injury due to COVID-19.
For this study, the investigators employed a liquid biopsy method to conduct genome-wide methylation profiling of cell-free DNA in the blood plasma. They assessed the utility of this test to identify subjects with severe disease in two independent, longitudinal cohorts of hospitalized patients. Cell-free DNA profiling was performed on 104 plasma samples from 33 COVID-19 patients and compared to samples from patients with other viral infections and healthy controls.
The investigators reported finding evidence of injury to the lung and liver and involvement of red blood cell progenitors associated with severe COVID-19. Furthermore, a high concentration of cell-free DNA in the blood was itself a strong prognostic marker for severe COVID-19 cases.
“A lot of what we have learned about the involvement of the virus with different organs is from invasive biopsies, postmortem biopsies,” said senior author Dr. Iwijn De Vlaminck, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University. “But a liquid biopsy is potentially very useful as a biological measurement, a way to study what is going on in patients who have different types of symptoms, for example. It could be used to assess disease severity and help stratify patients in the care system. It could also potentially be a surrogate biomarker that you could include in randomized controlled trials of various anti-COVID therapies and anti-virals.”
The cell-free DNA study was published in the January 16, 2021, online edition of the journal Cell Med.
Related Links:
Cornell University
While COVID-19 primarily affects the lungs, evidence of systemic disease with multi-organ involvement has emerged. In order to better understand this phenomenon, investigators at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) and colleagues in the United States and Canada developed a blood test to broadly quantify cell, tissue, and organ specific injury due to COVID-19.
For this study, the investigators employed a liquid biopsy method to conduct genome-wide methylation profiling of cell-free DNA in the blood plasma. They assessed the utility of this test to identify subjects with severe disease in two independent, longitudinal cohorts of hospitalized patients. Cell-free DNA profiling was performed on 104 plasma samples from 33 COVID-19 patients and compared to samples from patients with other viral infections and healthy controls.
The investigators reported finding evidence of injury to the lung and liver and involvement of red blood cell progenitors associated with severe COVID-19. Furthermore, a high concentration of cell-free DNA in the blood was itself a strong prognostic marker for severe COVID-19 cases.
“A lot of what we have learned about the involvement of the virus with different organs is from invasive biopsies, postmortem biopsies,” said senior author Dr. Iwijn De Vlaminck, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University. “But a liquid biopsy is potentially very useful as a biological measurement, a way to study what is going on in patients who have different types of symptoms, for example. It could be used to assess disease severity and help stratify patients in the care system. It could also potentially be a surrogate biomarker that you could include in randomized controlled trials of various anti-COVID therapies and anti-virals.”
The cell-free DNA study was published in the January 16, 2021, online edition of the journal Cell Med.
Related Links:
Cornell University
Latest COVID-19 News
- New Immunosensor Paves Way to Rapid POC Testing for COVID-19 and Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Long COVID Etiologies Found in Acute Infection Blood Samples
- Novel Device Detects COVID-19 Antibodies in Five Minutes
- CRISPR-Powered COVID-19 Test Detects SARS-CoV-2 in 30 Minutes Using Gene Scissors
- Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis Linked to COVID-19
- Novel SARS CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test Validated for Diagnostic Accuracy
- New COVID + Flu + R.S.V. Test to Help Prepare for `Tripledemic`
- AI Takes Guesswork Out Of Lateral Flow Testing
- Fastest Ever SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Designed for Non-Invasive COVID-19 Testing in Any Setting
- Rapid Antigen Tests Detect Omicron, Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variants
- Health Care Professionals Showed Increased Interest in POC Technologies During Pandemic, Finds Study
- Set Up Reserve Lab Capacity Now for Faster Response to Next Pandemic, Say Researchers
- Blood Test Performed During Initial Infection Predicts Long COVID Risk
- Low-Cost COVID-19 Testing Platform Combines Sensitivity of PCR and Speed of Antigen Tests
- Finger-Prick Blood Test Identifies Immunity to COVID-19
- Quick Test Kit Determines Immunity Against COVID-19 and Its Variants