Decreased plasma gelsolin in the COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential roles of plasma gelsolin (pGSN), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1), and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as profibrotic and immune modulatory markers in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and patients with mild to moderate disease.The study included 60 COVID-19 RT-PCR (+) patients who were divided into two groups as those who developed ARDS and those who did not and 18 non-COVID-19 volunteers. The pGSN, LPA and TGF-β1 levels were measured in the obtained plasma samples and evaluated together with routine laboratory parameters. Prognostic factors were assessed by multivariate analysis, and the predictive values of pGSN, TGF-β1 and LPA for developing ARDS were compared.While increased pGSN levels in COVID-19 patients were found to be decreased with the onset of ARDS; TGF-β1 and LPA levels were lower in patients than in control group, and the lowest levels were observed in patients who developed ARDS. In multivariate analyses, CRP and pGSN were identified as independent risk factors for developing ARDS. The cut-off value of the pGSN was 4,573 ng/mL (90 % sensitivity, 99 % specificity), (area under the curve: 0.977). The predictive values ​​of pGSN is higher than TGF-β1 and LPA.It can be said that the low concentrations of pGSN, TGF-β1 and LPA contribute to the development of ARDS due to the associated immunosuppressive role in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]