Mitochondrial DNA (MT-DNA) are intrinsically inflammatory nucleic acids released by damaged solid organs. Whether circulating MT-DNA levels could be used to predict the development of poor COVID-19 outcomes remains undetermined. Here, we measured circulating MT-DNA levels in prospectively collected, cell-free plasma samples from 97 subjects with COVID-19 at the time of hospital presentation. Circulating MT-DNA were sharply elevated in patients who eventually died, required ICU admission or intubation. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated MT-DNA levels as an independent risk factor for all of these outcomes after adjusting for age, sex and comorbidities. Importantly, we found MT-DNA levels had a similar or superior area-under-the curve when compared to clinically established inflammatory indicators, as well as emerging markers currently of interest as targets for investigational therapies. These results show that high circulating MT-DNA levels are a potential indicator of poor COVID-19 outcomes.

中文翻译：

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循环中的线粒体DNA是COVID-19中严重疾病和死亡率的早期指标。

线粒体DNA（MT-DNA）是由受损的实体器官释放的内在的炎性核酸。循环MT-DNA水平是否可用于预测不良COVID-19结局的发展尚不确定。在这里，我们在医院就诊时对来自97名COVID-19受试者的前瞻性收集的无细胞血浆样品中的循环MT-DNA水平进行了测量。最终死亡，需要加护病房或需要插管的患者中，循环MT-DNA急剧升高。多元回归分析表明，在调整了年龄，性别和合并症之后，MT-DNA水平是所有这些结果的独立危险因素。重要的是，我们发现与临床确定的炎症指标相比，MT-DNA的曲线下面积相似或更高。以及目前作为研究疗法目标的新兴标志物。这些结果表明，高循环MT-DNA水平可能是不良COVID-19结果的潜在指标。