A urine test using fifty protein fragments as markers can apparently predict the risk of death for people suffering from a range of diseases. This is the result of a new study by European scientists with the participation of the MedUni Innsbruck. The test was originally tested on Covid-19 patients.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has undoubtedly boosted medical research in many areas. One topic was the development of new vaccines, another topic was antiviral drugs and a third topic was new laboratory methods.
The biotech company Mosaiques Diagnostics, based in Hannover, Germany, specializes in analyzing peptide patterns in various body fluids using methods such as electrophoresis and mass spectrometry in connection with various diseases.
Pattern of 50 protein fragments as markers
For example, the COV50 test system has been developed. It involves analyzing the patterns of 50 peptides (parts of proteins) found in urine. The changes are intended to provide information about the course of the disease and even about the risk of mortality.
Accuracy of almost 75 percent
A study with Covid-19 patients funded by the German Ministry of Health showed something astonishing in ‘Lancet Digital Health’ in 2022: a corresponding peptide pattern from 1012 patients (positive SARS-CoV-2 test at the beginning) said with a accuracy of almost 75 percent predicts a fatal disease from Covid-19. The accuracy for predicting a severe course of the disease was 67 percent.
Now a team of scientists from Austria (MedUni Innsbruck), Germany, France, Belgium and Greece have used COV50 to determine the test’s significance for other diseases. As part of the study, which was recently published in the Journal of Translational Medicine (doi: 10.1186/s12967-023-04508-6), the COV50 classification system was used to analyze the peptide pattern from urine samples of 1719 patients from intensive care units. care departments and of 7474 patients with a less serious course of illness. They were all people who were not affected by Covid-19.
The result: for every unit increase in the COV50 value, the risk of death for patients in intensive care units increased by 20 percent. For sick people who do not require intensive care, the associated mortality risk has even increased by 61 percent.
Changes in the tissue
“The largest and most significant changes associated with future mortality were a reduction in certain collagen fragments,” says the abstract of the scientific paper. Apparently this is due to changes in the tissue between the cells of the organism (extracellular matrix).
The question now arises whether it would be possible to intervene in some way in the event of illness to prevent the conditions covered by COV50, which lead to greater susceptibility to serious diseases or even promote death in the event of illness. On the other hand, the test could also be a warning system from the start for more intensive therapy for patients at risk.
Source: Krone
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