Cerecor and Myriad Genetics announced that levels of novel cytokine, LIGHT, were highly correlated with disease severity and mortality in a COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) biomarker study. The biomarker study was conducted using the serum samples of 47 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 30 healthy controls from Hackensack Meridian Health Network.

In April 2020, approximately 1,500 people in the United States died each day from COVID-19. The viral infection triggers a hyperactive immune response leading to cytokine storm and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which is a leading cause of death in patients who die of COVID-19. Although this hyperinflammatory process is poorly understood, the data from this study implicates the inflammatory cytokine, LIGHT, as a potential key driver of cytokine storm leading to ARDS and death.

LIGHT levels were significantly elevated in the serum of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 versus healthy controls (p value < 0.0001). The highest LIGHT levels were found in patients who required ventilator support, particularly in patients over 60. Importantly, the data demonstrated elevated LIGHT levels were also strongly linked with mortality (p=0.02).