In a new study, researchers found a protein that can cause blood clotting and contribute to severe COVID-19.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Kent and elsewhere.
SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. It is currently not known why some individuals develop only mild or no symptoms when infected, whilst others experience severe, life-threatening forms of the disease.
However, it is known that the risk of COVID-19 becoming severe increases with age and is higher in males than in females.
Many severe COVID-19 cases are characterized by increased blood clotting and thrombosis formation.
In the study, the team combined existing data on gene expression in humans with cell culture research of COVID-19-infected cells to search for molecules involved in blood coagulation that differ between females and males, change with age, and are regulated in response to COVID-19 infection.
Out of more than 200 candidate factors, they identified a glycoprotein called transferrin to be a procoagulant (a cause of blood clotting) that increases with age, is higher in males than in females, and is higher in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells.
Glycoproteins are proteins that have sugars attached to them. They do many important jobs for the body, such as helping the immune, digestive, and reproductive systems.
The team says transferrin may have potential as a biomarker for the early identification of COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease.
One author of the study is Katie-May McLaughlin.
The study is published in Diagnostics.
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