Evaluation of the relationship between KIM-1 and suPAR level in COVID-19 patients and a different perspective on suPAR

Abstract

Objective: COVID-19 is one of the most important health problems concerning the last century and our knowledge of the disease is still limited. In our study, we aimed to compare serum-soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) level with clinical course in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Our study included 102 patients over the age of 18 who were diagnosed with Covid-19 between September 2020 and December 2020 by taking nasopharyngeal swap and using real time PCR method and 30 volunteer medical personnel over the age of 18 who were PCR negative after the nasopharyngeal swap. KIM-1 and suPAR were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: NLR, LDH, prothrombin time, CRP, PaO2/FiO2, D-Dimer, ferritin and fibrinogen levels, which have been mentioned in previous studies to be of prognostic importance for COVID-19, were observed to be higher in the severely ill group (p=0,001, 0,001, 0,05, 0,001, 0,001, 0,005, 0,001, 0,001 respectively). suPAR and KIM-1 levels were statistically significantly higher in patient groups compared to the control group (p=0.001 for all). While suPAR level was statistically significantly lower in severe patients compared to moderate patients (p=0.034), KIM-1 level was observed to be higher in severe patients (p=0.001). Conclusion: The increased level of KIM-1 in severe patients, which is thought to play an important role in the endocytosis of SARS-CoV-2 to the cell, may have an important place for the therapeutic target in the future. SuPAR can be considered to play an important role especially in the defense mechanism and fibrinolysis and its decreased level in severe patients may be associated with poor prognosis in the early period. However, extensive studies are needed to reach a definitive opinion about suPAR.