The Faculty of Pharmacy discussed the master’s thesis entitled “Serum Alpha1-Antitrypsin Level in COVID-19 Iraqi Patients and its Association with Some Inflammatory Biomarkers “by Hayder Abdulilah Abd and his supervisor, Ass. Prof. Dr. Ali Abdulhussain Kasim, in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department. The study aimed to measure the serum levels of Alpha1-Antitrypsin (AAT), the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in a sample of Iraqi severe COVID-19 patients, and to compare these levels with healthy control participants; as well as, to study the association of AAT with the other studied variables. Ninety participants of both genders were enrolled in the study; forty-five of them were confirmed COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the isolation hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. The other group involved forty-five apparently healthy, non-infected subjects, of comparable age and gender to serve as the control group; and serum levels of AAT, IL-1β, IL-6, hsCRP, D-dimer, ferritin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as the total white blood cell WBC count, were measured. The study showed that, COVID-19 patients had elevated serum AAT levels and this occured with concomitant elevation in serum IL-6, IL-1β, ferritin, LDH, and hsCRP, as well as an elevated total WBC count. Furthermore, serum AAT levels were positively correlated with the serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-1β and with the acute phase reactant ferritin.
