A characteristic clinical feature of COVID-19 is the frequent incidence of microvascular thrombosis. In fact, COVID-19 autopsy reports have shown widespread thrombotic microangiopathy characterized by extensive diffuse microthrombi within peripheral capillaries and arterioles in lungs, hearts, and other organs, resulting in multiorgan failure. However, the underlying process of COVID-19-associated microvascular thrombosis remains elusive due to the lack of tools to statistically examine platelet aggregation (i.e., the initiation of microthrombus formation) in detail. Here we report the landscape of circulating platelet aggregates in COVID-19 obtained by massive single-cell image-based profiling and temporal monitoring of the blood of COVID-19 patients ( n = 110). Surprisingly, our analysis of the big image data shows the anomalous presence of excessive platelet aggregates in nearly 90% of all COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, results indicate strong links between the concentration of platelet aggregates and the severity, mortality, respiratory condition, and vascular endothelial dysfunction level of COVID-19 patients. The authors report the landscape of circulating platelet aggregates in COVID-19 obtained by massive single-cell image-based profiling and temporal monitoring to elucidate the underlying process of COVID-19-assocaited microvascular thrombosis.
【저자키워드】 Diagnostic markers, flow cytometry, imaging, Lab-on-a-chip, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, Mortality, severity, Autopsy, Endothelial dysfunction, Lungs, Platelet, incidence, characteristic, single-cell, COVID-19 patients, Blood, Concentration, Analysis, COVID-19 patient, microthrombi, Microvascular thrombosis, Vascular, multiorgan failure, other organs, thrombotic, aggregation, hearts, aggregate, widespread, microthrombus, shown, resulting, lack, characterized, statistically, arteriole, circulating platelet, peripheral capillary, 【제목키워드】 single-cell, aggregate, massive, reveal, circulating platelet, patients with COVID-19,