The study was conducted by VASCage project leader Prof. Manuel Mayr and his team including first author and PhD student Dr. Clemens Gutmann, who studied and practiced medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck before joining Prof. Mayr’s group at King’s College London. In collaboration with researchers from VASCage company partner TAmiRNA GmbH in Vienna they contribute with their recent findings to fight the pandemic. They have published their results in ‘Cardiovascular Research‘, the international journal of the European Society of Cardiology for basic and translational research.
The aim of the study was to determine the association of circulating microRNAs with COVID-19 severity and mortality. The researchers used RNA-Seq, RT-qPCR and mass spectrometry techniques to analyse blood samples of intensive care patients with COVID-19. They discovered that myocyte-derived miR-133a and liver-derived mirR-122 levels differed with COVID-19 severity and mortality. These miRNA biomarkers may have the potential to aid in prognosis assessment and inform treatment decisions.
Gutmann et al., Association of cardiometabolic microRNAs with COVID-19 severity and mortality, Cardiovascular Research, 2021;, cvab338, https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab338