IIT Bombay researchers use mass spectrometry to determine intensity of Covid-19 infection

Researchers found that levels of specific proteins in the nasopharyngeal samples of a person can differentiate between low and high severity of COVID-19 infection. 

Researchers from the Indian Institute for Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) and Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mumbai, led by Prof Sanjeeva Srivastava of IIT Bombay, have found that levels of specific proteins in the nasopharyngeal samples of a person can differentiate between low and high severity of COVID-19 infection. This information would help hospitals distribute healthcare resources on time and ensure that those who require critical care could be identified with relative ease. The study was published in iScience, an open-access journal from Cell Press. The study was funded by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and by IIT Bombay.  

The researchers collected nasopharyngeal samples from three groups of patients; Covid-19 positive, Covid-19 negative and Covid-19 recovered. They used mass spectrometry to determine which proteins were present in each of the groups’ samples. They verified 25 proteins’ identities and quantities using a mass spectrometry technique called the Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) assay. While mass spectrometry can identify any biomolecule, an SRM assay is targeted at just proteins. Therefore, SRM is a highly sensitive and selective method for the identification of proteins and the precise measurement of their quantities. 

What is mass spectrometry?  

Mass spectrometry is a chemistry tool that detects proteins in a highly sensitive manner. It is much more sensitive to the virus as you are looking at proteins. There are so many proteins and so many more copies of it. It is easier to detect protein in comparison to RNA.

Prof Sanjeeva Srivastava, IIT Bombay, said mass spectrometry could potentially be used as a diagnostic and prognostic test. Further studies on a large cohort of Covid-19 positive and Covid-19 negative samples in order to validate these results need to be done. A quantitative analysis of the identified proteins needs to be conducted. Further tests inside human cells need to be done to validate these small molecules and drug candidates.  

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