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. 2022 Jul;112(1):23-29.
doi: 10.1002/JLB.3MA0322-279RRR. Epub 2022 Mar 31.

Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm ) in leucocytes as post-COVID-19 sequelae

Karina Janice Guadalupe Díaz-Resendiz  1 , Alma Betsaida Benitez-Trinidad  1 , Carlos Eduardo Covantes-Rosales  1 , Gladys Alejandra Toledo-Ibarra  1 , Pablo Cesar Ortiz-Lazareno  2 , Daniel Alberto Girón-Pérez  1 , Adela Yolanda Bueno-Durán  1 , Daniela Alejandra Pérez-Díaz  1 , Rocío Guadalupe Barcelos-García  1 , Manuel Iván Girón-Pérez  1
Affiliations

Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm ) in leucocytes as post-COVID-19 sequelae

Karina Janice Guadalupe Díaz-Resendiz et al. J Leukoc Biol. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm ) is a parameter often used to determine mitochondrial function; therefore, it can be used to determine the integrity and functionality of cells. A decrement of ΔΨm is implicated in several inflammatory-related pathologies, such phenomena can be related to COVID-19 infection. The present work aimed to compare the ΔΨm in leucocytes (human PBMCs; HPBMC) isolated from healthy control (HC) subjects, patients with COVID-19 (C-19), recovered subjects at 40 ± 13 (R1) and 335 ± 20 (R2) days after infection (dai). Obtained data showed that ΔΨm decreased in HPBMC of subjects with C-19, R1, and R2 compared with HC. When analyzing the ΔΨm data by sex, in females, a significant decrease was observed in R1 and R2 groups versus HC. Regarding men, a significant decrease of ΔΨm was observed in R1, with respect to HC, contrary to R2 group, who reestablished this parameter. Obtained results suggest that the loss of ΔΨm could be related to the long-COVID.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; leucocytes; mitochondrial membrane potential; response sex-associated.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Mitochondrial membrane potential (MFI of DIOC6(3)) of HPBMC from healthy controls (HC) subjects, patients with COVID‐19 (C‐19), subjects recently recovered from COVID‐19 (R1) at 40 ± 13 days after infection (dai) and recovered subjects at 11 months post‐infection (R2, at 335 ± 20 dai). (A) Representative plots of ΔΨ m in HPBMC analyzed with software FlowJo. Each histogram shows DIOC6(3) MFI, which has affinity for stable ΔΨ m in cells. (B) MFI was represented as a bar graph with the means ± sem. Nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's multiple comparison tests were performed
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Symptomatology classification in male (left side) and female (right side) patients with COVID‐19 (C‐19), subjects recently recovered from COVID‐19 (R1) at 40 ± 13 days after infection (dai) and recovered subjects at 11 months post‐infection (R2, at 335 ± 20 dai). The intensity of blue color in each box indicates the frequency of individuals who presented each symptom
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Mitochondrial membrane potential (MFI of DIOC6(3)) of HPBMC from healthy controls (HC), subjects, patients with COVID‐19 (C‐19), subjects recently recovered from COVID‐19 (R1) at 40 ± 13 days after infection (dai) and recovered subjects at 11 months postinfection (R2, at 335 ± 20 dai). MFI was represented as a bar graph with the means ± sem. The table shows the statistically significant differences between male and female. Nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's multiple comparison tests were performed
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