Interleukin-6 Test Strip Combined With a Spectrum-Based Optical Reader for Early Recognition of COVID-19 Patients With Risk of Respiratory Failure

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a globally devastating impact. This highly contagious virus has significantly overburdened and undermined medical systems. While most infected patients experience only mild symptoms, those who are severely affect require urgent medical interventions and some develop acute respiratory failure and require mechanical ventilation. The broad and potentially deadly impact of infection underscores the critical need for early recognition, especially for those at risk for respiratory failure. Those who are severely impacted and at high risk for respiratory failure have been found to present high levels of serum cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Timely diagnosis and management of those at risk for respiratory failure is crucial. Measurement of IL-6 may provide a means for distinguishing such patients. Currently, most serum IL-6 detection relies on the use of laboratory-based conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Although some rapid assays have been developed recently, they need to be conducted by specific technicians in central laboratory settings with advanced and expensive equipment. In this study, we propose an IL-6 test strip combined with a spectrum-based optical reader for early recognition of COVID-19-infected patients at imminent risk of acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilator support. For our analyses, clinical demographic data and sera samples were obtained from three medical centers, and test strip specificity and detection performance were analyzed. This would help healthcare personnel stratify the risk of respiratory failure and provide prompt, and suitable management.

Development of an EBOV MiniG plus system as an advanced tool for anti-Ebola virus drug screening

“…Interestingly, the Ns of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 showed highly conserved structures and demonstrated the highest enhancement effects (46 % and 45 %, respectively). The structure of the N in human coronaviruses is conserved, comprising two independently folded domains, the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the C-terminal domain (CTD), which are connected by an intrinsically disordered region [ 19 , 20 , [26] , [27] , [28] ]. The NTD is responsible for RNA binding, while the CTD is responsible for dimerization.…”

“…According to previous studies, the overexpression of VP40 and VP24 downregulates the expression of the EBOV MiniG system [ 8 , 10 ]. VP24 can interact with two proteins in the RNP complex, NP and VP35, which directly inhibit the RNP complex, resulting in a simultaneous decrease in the production of these three RNAs [ 28 , 29 ]. However, VP40 has been discovered to suppress the expression of both mRNA/cRNA and vRNA [ 29 ].…”

Recent Progresses in Optical Biosensors for Interleukin 6 Detection

“…Since the IL-6 seems to be related to respiratory failure, it can be considered as a biomarker of COVID-19 detection [ 60 ]. For early recognition of COVID-19-infected patients under imminent risk of acute respiratory failure, a sandwich format of IL-6 LFIA strip accompanied by a spectrum-based optical reader was developed [ 61 ]. The test strip was designed based on immobilization of 15 nm AuNPs conjugated with anti-IL-6 antibody onto conjugated pad.…”

Case report: Distinct neurologic manifestation and cytokine profile of a child with COVID-19-associated acute fulminant encephalitis

“…Computed tomography (CT) of the head with contrast medium ( Figures 1A – G ), performed 4 h after arrival, depicted bilateral mild cortical swelling, especially bilateral ventral temporal lobes, slightly pushing into tentorial incisura, indicating possible acute encephalitis. The laboratory data showed elevated alanine aminotransferase (91 U/L), aspartate aminotransferase (210 U/L), pro-calcitonin (11.85 ng/mL), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) level [0.271 ng/mL, by IL-6 test strip combined with a spectrum-based optical reader ( 2 , 3 )]. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis later showed no pleocytosis, but a significantly high total protein (387 mg/dL) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (5.5 ng/mL, by IL-6 test strip) level.…”