Proteins and peptides serve as biomarkers in the context of multiple pathologies. The hypothesis that protein or peptide biomarkers may also be of value in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic appears self-evident. Proteome based biomarkers are not expected to display significant added value in the detection of viral infection but appear well suited to address a major unmet need: the prognosis of the course of disease, to guide appropriate, timely intervention. Based on similar approaches in the context of other diseases and using a CE-MS platform, urinary peptides are investigated for their value as biomarkers to assess disease progression after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The manuscript presented in this issue of Proteomics reports first results, indicating that urine peptides may be of substantial value in the assessment and prediction of severity of the Covid-19 disease course on an individual level. While the findings are not entirely surprising, the report does stand out from all others by a well-defined context-of-use, and, what is more, by presenting an already initiated validation study that may, if successful, result in immediate implementation of this proteomics-based diagnostic test. This approach should serve as positive example for the planning and execution of clinical proteomics studies.
© 2020 The Authors. Proteomics published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.