ArticleGenome medicine2021
Disease severity-specific neutrophil signatures in blood transcriptomes stratify COVID-19 patients.
Article in Genome medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 180 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
180 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Identifying novel host-based diagnostic biomarker panels for COVID-19: a whole-blood/nasopharyngeal transcriptome meta-analysis.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2022Pooled it
- High-throughput transcriptome analyses from ASPIRO, a phase 1/2/3 study of gene replacement therapy for X-linked myotubular myopathy.American journal of human genetics · 2023Trial
- A functionally distinct neutrophil landscape in severe COVID-19 reveals opportunities for adjunctive therapies.JCI insight · 2022Trial
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection-Induced Alterations in ADAR Editing Patterns Differ Between Patients Who Developed Critical Compared to Non-Critical COVID-19.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Large-scale analysis of temporal gene expression variation in peripheral blood.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Multiorgan Molecular Landscape of Severe COVID-19 Revealed by Consensus Gene Signatures and RAB8B Targeting.Journal of medical virology · 2026Article
- Early Fc-effector antibody signatures impact COVID-19 disease trajectory.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Neutrophil heterogeneity in Kawasaki disease and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Revealing shared molecular markers and mechanisms in colorectal cancer and COVID-19 through bioinformatics and machine learning.Briefings in bioinformatics · 2026Article
- Genome-wide H3K4me3 profiling of circulating immune cells reveals dynamic epigenetic reprogramming during acute critical COVID-19.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2-induced dysregulation in ADAR editing patterns persists post viral clearance in individuals with mild COVID-19.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Deep immune profiling delineates hallmarks of disease heterogeneity in extrapulmonary tuberculosis.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A single-cell framework identifies functionally and molecularly distinct multipotent progenitors in adult human hematopoiesis.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Distinctive Temporal Profiles of Interferon-Stimulated Genes in Natural Infection, Viral Challenge, and Vaccination.Viruses · 2025Article
- Transcriptomic profile of microglia following inflammation-sensitized hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats suggests strong contribution to neutrophil chemotaxis and activation.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Transcriptomic analysis reveals shared deregulated neutrophil responses in COVID-19 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Respiratory research · 2025Article
- NETosis: A key player in autoimmunity, COVID-19, and long COVID.Journal of translational autoimmunity · 2025Review
- Methylation patterns of the nasal epigenome of hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 positive patients reveal insights into molecular mechanisms of COVID-19.BMC medical genomics · 2025Article
- IL-1β-driven NF-κB transcription of ACE2 as a Mechanism of Macrophage Infection by SARS-CoV-2.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
120 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
56 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is currently leading to increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients all over the world. Clinical presentations range from asymptomatic, mild respiratory tract infection, to severe cases with acute respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory failure, and death. Reports on a dysregulated immune system in the severe cases call for a better characterization and understanding of the changes in the immune system.
methodsIn order to dissect COVID-19-driven immune host responses, we performed RNA-seq of whole blood cell transcriptomes and granulocyte preparations from mild and severe COVID-19 patients and analyzed the data using a combination of conventional and data-driven co-expression analysis. Additionally, publicly available data was used to show the distinction from COVID-19 to other diseases. Reverse drug target prediction was used to identify known or novel drug candidates based on finding from data-driven findings.
resultsHere, we profiled whole blood transcriptomes of 39 COVID-19 patients and 10 control donors enabling a data-driven stratification based on molecular phenotype. Neutrophil activation-associated signatures were prominently enriched in severe patient groups, which was corroborated in whole blood transcriptomes from an independent second cohort of 30 as well as in granulocyte samples from a third cohort of 16 COVID-19 patients (44 samples). Comparison of COVID-19 blood transcriptomes with those of a collection of over 3100 samples derived from 12 different viral infections, inflammatory diseases, and independent control samples revealed highly specific transcriptome signatures for COVID-19. Further, stratified transcriptomes predicted patient subgroup-specific drug candidates targeting the dysregulated systemic immune response of the host.
conclusionsOur study provides novel insights in the distinct molecular subgroups or phenotypes that are not simply explained by clinical parameters. We show that whole blood transcriptomes are extremely informative for COVID-19 since they capture granulocytes which are major drivers of disease severity.
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