Metabolic and immune markers for precise monitoring of COVID-19 severity and treatment

Rendeiro, A. F.; Vorkas, C. K.; Krumsiek, J.; Singh, H.; Kapadia, S. N.; Cappelli, L. V.; Cacciapuoti, M. T.; Inghirami, G.; Elemento, O.; Salvatore, M.

Deep understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 effects on host molecular pathways is paramount for the discovery of early biomarkers of outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the identification of novel therapeutic targets. In that light, we generated metabolomic data from COVID-19 patient blood using high-throughput targeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-dimensional flow cytometry. We find considerable changes in serum metabolome composition of COVID-19 patients associated with disease severity, and response to tocilizumab treatment. We built a clinically annotated, biologically-interpretable space for precise time-resolved disease monitoring and characterize the temporal dynamics of metabolomic change along the clinical course of COVID-19 patients and in response to therapy. Finally, we leverage joint immuno-metabolic measurements to provide a novel approach for patient stratification and early prediction of severe disease. Our results show that high-dimensional metabolomic and joint immune-metabolic readouts provide rich information content for elucidation of the host response to infection and empower discovery of novel metabolic-driven therapies, as well as precise and efficient clinical action.