Interferon lambda 3 ─ a predictive biomarker for patients with mild or moderateⅠ COVID-19

Abstract

Interferon lambda 3（IFN-λ3）and C-C motif chemokine ligand 17（CCL17）have not been validated as predictive biomarkers of coronavirus disease 2019（COVID-19）severity. Here, we retrospectively investigated whether IFN-λ3 and CCL17 could predict the severity of COVID-19 in patients with mild or moderateⅠ COVID-19. We identified patients with mild or moderateⅠ COVID-19 according to the definition of severity in patients with COVID-19 between September 2020 and July 2021. We retrospectively measured IFN-λ3 and CCL17 levels in the preserved frozen serum blood samples and divided the study participants into four groups: IFNλ3 positive, CLL17-positive, IFNλ3 and CLL17-positive group, and a control group. The main outcome was the proportion of requirement of oxygen support after admission. We performed logistic regression analysis to evaluate the risk factors associated with the proportion of requirement for oxygen support after admission. We identified 127 patients in the study period. The IFN-λ3-positive, CCL17-positive, CCL17 and IFN-λ3-positive, and control groups had 18, 12, 8, and 89 patients, respectively. We determined that the proportion of requirement of oxygen support after admission of each group was 22.2%, 8.3%, 25.0%, and 9%, respectively. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that IFN-λ3 positivity was independently associated with a higher proportion of requirement for oxygen support after admission（Odds ratio: 1.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.01−1.1; p＝0.02）, whereas CCL17 exhibited the opposite result. In conclusion, IFN-λ3 could be used as a predictive biomarker for the oxygen support requirement in patients with COVID-19 after admission.departmental bulletin pape