Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33139116›Full record

ArticleJournal of autoimmunity2021

Complement activation and endothelial perturbation parallel COVID-19 severity and activity.

Massimo Cugno, Pier Luigi Meroni, Roberta Gualtierotti, Samantha Griffini, Elena Grovetti, Adriana Torri, Paola Lonati, Claudia Grossi, Maria Orietta Borghi, Cristina Novembrino and 13 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autoimmunity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

94 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Endotheliopathy in Acute COVID-19 and Long COVID.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
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  3. Endotheliopathy marked by high von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigen in COVID-19 is associated with poor outcome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022
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  14. A Window into the Vascular Endothelium in Covid-19: Nails.Dermatology practical & conceptual · 2025
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34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Massimo CugnoUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: massimo.cugno@unimi.it.
Pier Luigi MeroniImmunorheumatology Research Laboratory; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Roberta GualtierottiUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Samantha GriffiniFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Elena GrovettiFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Adriana TorriFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Paola LonatiImmunorheumatology Research Laboratory; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Claudia GrossiImmunorheumatology Research Laboratory; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Maria Orietta BorghiImmunorheumatology Research Laboratory; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy; Università degli Studi di Milano, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Milan, Italy.
Cristina NovembrinoFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Massimo BoscoloFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Sara Colonia Uceda RenteriaFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Virology Unit, Milan, Italy.
Luca ValentiUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology, Milan, Italy.
Giuseppe LamorteFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology, Milan, Italy.
Maria ManuntaFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology, Milan, Italy.
Daniele PratiFondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology, Milan, Italy.
Antonio PesentiUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Emergency, Milan, Italy.
Francesco BlasiUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Respiratory Unit and Cystic Fibrosis Adult Center, Milan, Italy.
Giorgio CostantinoUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Emergency Department, Milan, Italy.
Andrea GoriUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Infectious Disease Unit, Milan, Italy.
Alessandra BanderaUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Infectious Disease Unit, Milan, Italy.
Francesco TedescoImmunorheumatology Research Laboratory; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Flora PeyvandiUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Internal Medicine and Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Milan, Italy.
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico · ITUniversity of Milan · ITIRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAnimal models and few clinical reports suggest the involvement of the complement system in the onset of severe manifestations of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). However, complement contribution to endotheliopathy and hypercoagulability has not been elucidated yet.

objectiveTo evaluate the association among complement activation, endothelial damage and disease severity or activity in COVID-19 patients.

methodsIn this single-centre cohort study, 148 patients with COVID-19 of different severity were evaluated upon hospital admission and 30 days later. Markers of complement activation (SC5b-9 and C5a) and endothelial perturbation (von Willebrand factor [vWF], tissue-type plasminogen activator [t-PA], plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 [PAI-1], soluble thrombomodulin [sTM], and soluble endothelial selectin [sE-selectin]) were measured in plasma.

resultsThe patients had high plasma levels of SC5b-9 and C5a (p = 0.0001 for both) and vWF, t-PA and PAI-1 (p = 0.0001 for all). Their SC5b-9 levels correlated with those of vWF (r = 0.517, p = 0.0001) and paralleled disease severity (severe vs mild p = 0.0001, severe vs moderate p = 0.026 and moderate vs mild p = 0.001). The levels of sE-selectin were significantly increased only in the patients with severe disease. After 30 days, plasma SC5b-9, C5a and vWF levels had significantly decreased (p = 0.0001 for all), and 43% of the evaluated patients had normal levels.

conclusionsComplement activation is boosted during the progression of COVID-19 and dampened during remission, thus indicating its role in the pathophysiology of the disease. The association between complement activation and the biomarkers of endothelial damage suggests that complement may contribute to tissue injury and could be the target of specific therapy.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overBiomarkersCohort StudiesComplement ActivationCOVID-19Endothelium, VascularFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSARS-CoV-2BiomarkersC5aComplementCOVID-19EndotheliumSC5b-9von Willebrand factor

Identifiers

PMID33139116
PMCPMC7598768
OpenAlexW3096430081

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.