A ‘spy’ in the blood reveals the severity of Covid – Chronicle

Bergamo, November 19, 2020 – What determines such different reactions to the attack by the COVID-19? Why some people get seriously ill and others less? One study From two independent case studies, conducted by a Humanitas working group led by Professor Alberto Mantovani, and by the Asst Papa Giovanni XXIII group of doctors and researchers, coordinated by Professor Alessandro Rambaldi, they identified an indicator of severity of the disease in patients with Covid: the Ptx3 molecule. The work “Expression of macrophages and prognostic significance of long pentraxin Ptx3 in Covid-19”, just published in Nature Immunology, involved 96 patients in Humanitas and 54 in Pope John XXIII. The researchers investigated the mechanisms of innate immunity in the blood and lungs. “The analysis brought to light the role of a gene discovered by my group years ago, Ptx3: a molecule involved in immunity and inflammation – explains Alberto Mantovani, scientific director of Humanitas -. In patients with Covid disease. , this molecule is present in high levels in the blood, the lungs, the cells of the first line of defense and in the cells that line the inner surface of the blood vessels. Important information since Covid patients have very strong inflammation, which leads to thrombosis of the pulmonary microcirculation at the endothelial cell level. “

The two independent case studies, those of Milan and Bergamo, confirm that the measurement of Ptx3 is, to date, the most important prognostic factor associated with the aggravation of the patient’s condition.
“These data – explains Alessandro Rambaldi, director of the Hematology Unit and of the Oncology and Hematology Department of the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital – confirm the centrality of endothelial damage in the most serious manifestations observed in patients with Covid. The circulating levels of Ptx3, measured in the blood, will serve to guide the evaluation of the patient’s response to the treatments. “Starting from a high-tech approach, the study defines a simple test: a blood test is enough.” The study shows that the advancement of knowledge – concludes Rambaldi – is achieved thanks to the collection of biological samples and personal and health data of the population, essential for an effective investigation on Covid ”.