Postmortem Tissue Proteomics Reveals the Pathogenesis of Multiorgan Injuries of COVID-19

Abstract Multiorgan injuries are a major complication of severe COVID-19; however, its pathogenesis is barely understood. Herein, we profiled the host responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection by performing quantitative proteomics of COVID-19 postmortem samples, and provided a comprehensive proteome map covering the protein alterations in eight different organs/tissues. Our results revealed that lung underwent the most abundant protein alterations mainly enriched in immune-/inflammation-related or morphology-related processes, while surprisingly, other organs/tissues exhibited significant protein alterations mainly enriched in processes related with organ movement, respiration, and metabolism. These results indicate that the major cause of lung injury was excessive inflammatory response, and subsequent intravascular thrombosis and pulmonary architecture/function destruction, while other organs/tissues were mainly injured by hypoxia and functional impairment. Therefore, our findings demonstrate the significant pathophysiological alternations of host proteins/pathways associated with multiorgan injuries of COVID-19, which provides invaluable knowledge about COVID-19-associated host responses and sheds light on the pathogenesis of COVID-19.