Identifying biomarker signatures of prognostic value for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT In adults, SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibits a wide range of clinical outcomes, from asymptomatic and mild disease to severe viral pneumonia, respiratory distress, acute kidney injury, thrombotic disorders, and serious cardiac, cerebrovascular and vascular complications.

Severe infection can also occur both in children and young adults (< 21), and a significant proportion of children admitted with Covid-19 require ICU support, frequently including mechanical ventilation.

In addition, children and adolescents with initially asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection have presented with a rare, but very severe multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C).

Epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory predictors of progression towards severe forms of acute infection with SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C are thus urgently needed in the fight against Covid-19 in this population.

As defined in the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program, biomarker discovery can enable risk stratification and guide interventional studies to target Covid-19 patients at enhanced risk of developing complications and/or severe disease.

To target this discovery initiative, herein we will use a battery of biological, immunological and molecular tests, including Grating-Coupled Fluorescence Plasmonic (GCFP) and advanced flow cytometry, to study children and young adults (