Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bindu Swapna Madala, Andre L. M. Reis, Ira W. Deveson, William Rawlinson, Tim R. Mercer
Summary: DNA synthesis in vitro allows rapid production of reference standards for use as controls in diagnostic tests, improving accuracy and quality. Incorporating both positive and negative controls into diagnostic testing helps evaluate test specificity, while cross-validating these controls in the same reaction distinguishes control and test failures.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
William Jonathan Windsor, Yannik Roell, Heidi Tucker, Chi-An Cheng, Sara Suliman, Laura J. Peek, Gary A. Pestano, William T. Lee, Heinz Zeichhardt, Molly M. Lamb, Martin Kammel, Hui Wang, Ross Kedl, Cody Rester, Thomas E. Morrison, Bennet J. Davenport, Kyle Carson, Jennifer Yates, Kelly Howard, Karen Kulas, David R. Walt, Aner Dafni, Daniel Taylor, May Chu
Summary: This study aimed to compare the utility of different SARS-CoV-2 serology reference materials as secondary standards to the WHO International Standard (WHO IS). The results showed varying levels of concordance between different diagnostic methods for specific antigen-antibody combinations. However, the lack of consistent international unit conversions limits the benefit of qualifying reference materials to the WHO IS.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Elmira Mohammadi, Fatemeh Shafiee, Kiana Shahzamani, Mohammad Mehdi Ranjbar, Abbas Alibakhshi, Shahrzad Ahangarzadeh, Leila Beikmohammadi, Laleh Shariati, Soodeh Hooshmandi, Behrooz Ataei, Shaghayegh Haghjooy Javanmard
Summary: Understanding the genetic diversity and mutations of SARS-CoV-2 can provide valuable insights for DNA-based diagnosis, antiviral drugs, and vaccine development for COVID-19.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ahmed I. Abulsoud, Hussein M. El-Husseiny, Ahmed A. El-Husseiny, Hesham A. El-Mahdy, Ahmed Ismail, Samy Y. Elkhawaga, Emad Gamil Khidr, Doaa Fathi, Eman A. Mady, Agnieszka Najda, Mohammad Algahtani, Abdulrahman Theyab, Khalaf F. Alsharif, Ashraf Albrakati, Roula Bayram, Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim, Ahmed S. Doghish
Summary: COVID-19 is a global pandemic caused by SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The development of new vaccines with innovative technologies has revolutionized the field of vaccinology. These vaccines use mRNA encoding the Spike SARS-CoV-2 protein or recombinant adenovirus vectors to introduce the Spike protein gene into cells, allowing for faster updates to combat new variants. However, effective control of these variants requires a rapid and widespread vaccination policy with sufficient vaccine doses.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Emma J. Griffiths, Ruth E. Timme, Catarina Ines Mendes, Andrew J. Page, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Dan Fornika, Finlay Maguire, Josefina Campos, Daniel Park, Idowu B. Olawoye, Paul E. Oluniyi, Dominique Anderson, Alan Christoffels, Anders Goncalves da Silva, Rhiannon Cameron, Damion Dooley, Lee S. Katz, Allison Black, Ilene Karsch-Mizrachi, Tanya Barrett, Anjanette Johnston, Thomas R. Connor, Samuel M. Nicholls, Adam A. Witney, Gregory H. Tyson, Simon H. Tausch, Amogelang R. Raphenya, Brian Alcock, David M. Aanensen, Emma Hodcroft, William W. L. Hsiao, Ana Tereza R. Vasconcelos, Duncan R. MacCannell
Summary: PHA4GE is a global coalition working to improve openness, interoperability, and consistency in public health microbial bioinformatics. They have developed a SARS-CoV-2 contextual data specification package to support data collection and harmonization in public biorepositories.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Angela Choi, Matthew Koch, Kai Wu, Laurence Chu, LingZhi Ma, Anna Hill, Naveen Nunna, Wenmei Huang, Judy Oestreicher, Tonya Colpitts, Hamilton Bennett, Holly Legault, Yamuna Paila, Biliana Nestorova, Baoyu Ding, David Montefiori, Rolando Pajon, Jacqueline M. Miller, Brett Leav, Andrea Carfi, Roderick McPhee, Darin K. Edwards
Summary: The study demonstrates that both the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine and its variant-modified booster doses are safe and effective in improving neutralizing antibody titers against various virus variants.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Luigi Palopoli, Daniele Fontanelli, Marco Frego, Marco Roveri
Summary: We propose a Markovian stochastic approach to model the spread of a SARS-CoV-2-like infection within a closed group of humans. The model takes the form of a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and describes the stochastic phenomena underlying the spread of the epidemic. It can be used to verify control policies or identify optimal control policies for specified probabilistic goals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryuta Uraki, Maki Kiso, Shun Iida, Masaki Imai, Emi Takashita, Makoto Kuroda, Peter J. Halfmann, Samantha Loeber, Tadashi Maemura, Seiya Yamayoshi, Seiichiro Fujisaki, Zhongde Wang, Mutsumi Ito, Michiko Ujie, Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto, Yuri Furusawa, Ryan Wright, Zhenlu Chong, Seiya Ozono, Atsuhiro Yasuhara, Hiroshi Ueki, Yuko Sakai-Tagawa, Rong Li, Yanan Liu, Deanna Larson, Michiko Koga, Takeya Tsutsumi, Eisuke Adachi, Makoto Saito, Shinya Yamamoto, Masao Hagihara, Keiko Mitamura, Tetsuro Sato, Masayuki Hojo, Shin-ichiro Hattori, Kenji Maeda, Riccardo Valdez, Moe Okuda, Jurika Murakami, Calvin Duong, Sucheta Godbole, Daniel C. Douek, Ken Maeda, Shinji Watanabe, Aubree Gordon, Norio Ohmagari, Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi, Michael S. Diamond, Hideki Hasegawa, Hiroaki Mitsuya, Tadaki Suzuki, Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Summary: The replicative ability and pathogenicity of Omicron BA.2 variant is similar to that of BA.1 in rodents, but it shows less pathogenicity compared to early SARS-CoV-2 strains. There is a marked reduction in the neutralizing activity of plasma from individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 and vaccine recipients against BA.2 variant.
Review
Virology
Antonello Sica, Danilo Casale, Giovanni Rossi, Beniamino Casale, Massimo Ciccozzi, Morena Fasano, Marco Ciotti, Evangelista Sagnelli, Alfonso Papa, Caterina Sagnelli
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 is a disease caused by a recently emerged virus, with most cases having a mild course but posing a higher risk to the elderly and individuals with comorbidities. There is currently no specific vaccine, and treatment strategies involve antiviral medications and drugs to moderate cytokine storms.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Jian Yu, Shanshan Sun, Qianqian Tang, Chengzhuo Wang, Liangchen Yu, Lulu Ren, Jun Li, Zhenhua Zhang
Summary: COVID-19 is caused by the highly infectious SARS-CoV-2, with mutations affecting vaccine efficacy. Analysis of different clades of SARS-CoV-2 revealed low mutation rates and distinctive characterizing mutations, aiding in the design of targeted antiviral strategies based on geographic distribution.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Bradley B. Stocks, Marie-Pier Thibeault, Joseph D. Schrag, Jeremy E. Melanson
Summary: The development of diagnostic testing capability in response to COVID-19 has made significant progress, but the lack of standardization has resulted in unreliable test results. To address this challenge, the National Research Council Canada has prepared a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein reference material to assist the research community. The material was characterized using various analytical techniques, including amino acid analysis and spectrophotometry, and its stability and concentration were determined.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Shengli Xia, Yuntao Zhang, Yanxia Wang, Hui Wang, Yunkai Yang, George Fu Gao, Wenjie Tan, Guizhen Wu, Miao Xu, Zhiyong Lou, Weijin Huang, Wenbo Xu, Baoying Huang, Huijuan Wang, Wei Wang, Wei Zhang, Na Li, Zhiqiang Xie, Ling Ding, Wangyang You, Yuxiu Zhao, Xuqin Yang, Yang Liu, Qian Wang, Lili Huang, Yongli Yang, Guangxue Xu, Bojian Luo, Wenling Wang, Peipei Liu, Wanshen Guo, Xiaoming Yang
Summary: The inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, BBIBP-CorV, demonstrated safety and immunogenicity in two age groups. Humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 were induced in all vaccine recipients by day 42. A two-dose immunisation with 4 mu g vaccine on days 0 and 21 or days 0 and 28 achieved higher neutralising antibody titres compared to other dosing schedules.
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Ilaria Mormile, Francesca Della Casa, Angelica Petraroli, Alessandro Furno, Francescopaolo Granata, Giuseppe Portella, Francesca Wanda Rossi, Amato de Paulis
Summary: This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The results showed that the vaccines produced a satisfactory antibody response in SLE patients without influencing disease activity.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Haiwei Zhou, Donglai Liu, Liang Ma, Tingting Ma, Tingying Xu, Lili Ren, Liang Li, Sihong Xu
Summary: This study utilized digital PCR to estimate the nucleic acid detectable units of an inactivated whole-virus SARS-CoV-2 reference standard candidate, with the quantification results median treated as the consensus true value of virus particles in the standard. The reference standard was then used to challenge the limit of detection of six officially approved diagnostic assays. The study demonstrates that inactivated whole virus quantified by dPCR can serve as a standardized reference for diagnostic assay development, quality control, and regulatory surveillance.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Brunda Ganneru, Harsh Jogdand, Vijaya Kumar Daram, Dipankar Das, Narasimha Reddy Molugu, Sai D. Prasad, Srinivas Kannappa, Krishna M. Ella, Rajaram Ravikrishnan, Amit Awasthi, Jomy Jose, Panduranga Rao, Deepak Kumar, Raches Ella, Priya Abraham, Pragya D. Yadav, Gajanan N. Sapkal, Anita Shete-Aich, Gururaj Desphande, Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Atanu Basu, Nivedita Gupta, Krishna Mohan Vadrevu
Summary: The study reports the development and evaluation of a whole virion inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, showing high antigen-binding and neutralizing antibody titers in mice, rats, and rabbits, with excellent safety profiles.
Review
Pathology
Alexandar Tzankov, Kaaren K. Reichard, Robert P. Hasserjian, Daniel A. Arber, Attilio Orazi, Sa A. Wang
Summary: This review discusses the changes and updates in eosinophilic disorders under the International Consensus Classification (ICC), providing updated understanding and guidance for accurate diagnosis and differentiation.
Review
Pathology
Roos J. Leguit, Sa A. Wang, Tracy George, Alexandar Tzankov, Attilio Orazi
Summary: Mastocytosis is a neoplasm characterized by clonal proliferation of mast cells, which can accumulate in the skin and multiple organs, leading to various clinical presentations. According to the 2022 international consensus classification, mastocytosis can be divided into a benign form confined to the skin and a malignant form with systemic involvement.
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Christopher Werlein, Maximilian Ackermann, Helge Stark, Harshit R. Shah, Alexandar Tzankov, Jasmin Dinonne Haslbauer, Saskia von Stillfried, Roman David Buelow, Ali El-Armouche, Stephan Kuenzel, Jan Lukas Robertus, Marius Reichardt, Axel Haverich, Anne Hoefer, Lavinia Neubert, Edith Plucinski, Peter Braubach, Stijn Verleden, Tim Salditt, Nikolaus Marx, Tobias Welte, Johann Bauersachs, Hans-Heinrich Kreipe, Steven J. Mentzer, Peter Boor, Stephen M. Black, Florian Laenger, Mark Kuehnel, Danny Jonigk
Summary: In this multicentre study, researchers performed a comprehensive analysis of heart samples from autopsies of COVID-19 patients and discovered that cardiac involvement in COVID-19 is a macrophage-driven inflammatory process that is distinct from the typical anti-viral inflammatory responses. The study also found the presence of intussusceptive angiogenesis in the affected hearts, which is a key characteristic of vascular remodeling in COVID-19 pneumonia.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Okan Tezcan, Asmaa Said Elshafei, Karina Benderski, Elena Rama, Maike Wagner, Diana Moeckel, Robert Pola, Michal Pechar, Tomas Etrych, Saskia von Stillfried, Fabian Kiessling, Ralf Weiskirchen, Steffen Meurer, Twan Lammers
Summary: Multidrug resistance (MDR) reduces the efficacy of chemotherapy by inducing drug efflux pumps and altering the tumor microenvironment (TME) composition, limiting drug delivery. Multidrug-resistant tumors displayed a more mesenchymal phenotype, increased collagen production, enriched TME, and enhanced vascular perfusion. Drug carriers accumulated more efficiently in resistant tumors but had a limited ability to penetrate the interstitium. Microenvironmental drug resistance affected liposomal doxorubicin performance more than free doxorubicin.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David L. Hoelscher, Nassim Bouteldja, Mehdi Joodaki, Maria L. Russo, Yu-Chia Lan, Alireza Vafaei Sadr, Mingbo Cheng, Vladimir Tesar, Saskia V. Stillfried, Barbara M. Klinkhammer, Jonathan Barratt, Juergen Floege, Ian S. D. Roberts, Rosanna Coppo, Ivan G. Costa, Roman D. Buelow, Peter Boor
Summary: Pathology diagnostics still rely on tissue morphology assessment by trained experts. Here, the authors perform deep-learning-based segmentation followed by large-scale feature extraction of histological images, i.e., next-generation morphometry, to enable outcome-relevant and disease-specific pathomics analysis of non-tumor kidney pathology.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Letter
Neurosciences
Juliane Bremer, Johannes Friemann, Saskia von Stillfried, Peter Boor, Joachim Weis
ACTA NEUROPATHOLOGICA COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Mohamed S. Sarhan, Christina Wurst, Alexandar Tzankov, Andreas J. Bircher, Holger Wittig, Thomas Briellmann, Marc Augsburger, Gerhard Hotz, Albert Zink, Frank Maixner
Summary: In 1975, the mummified body of a woman named Anna Catharina Bischoff was discovered in a church in Basel, Switzerland. Despite the presence of high levels of mercury, toxicological analysis could not confirm the cause of her death. However, the detection of a nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) species suggested that she may have suffered from an atypical mycobacteriosis, explaining the bone lesions and high mercury concentrations.
Editorial Material
Hematology
Simon Haefliger, Alexandar Tzankov
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Sarp Uzun, Carl P. Zinner, Amke C. Beenen, Ilaria Alborelli, Ewelina M. Bartoszek, Jason Yeung, Byron Calgua, Matthias Reinscheid, Peter Bronsert, Anna K. Stalder, Jasmin D. Haslbauer, Juerg Vosbeck, Luca Mazzucchelli, Tobias Hoffmann, Luigi M. Terracciano, Gregor Hutter, Michael Manz, Isabelle Panne, Tobias Boettler, Maike Hofmann, Bertram Bengsch, Markus H. Heim, Christine Bernsmeier, Sizun Jiang, Alexandar Tzankov, Benedetta Terziroli Beretta-Piccoli, Matthias S. Matter
Summary: Liver injury after COVID-19 vaccination, known as vaccine-induced liver injury (VILI), shares similarities with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) but also exhibits distinct differences in histomorphology, pathway activation, immune infiltrates, and TCR usage. VILI may be considered a separate entity closely related to drug-induced autoimmune-like hepatitis.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Patricia Hirt-Minkowski, Joelle Handschin, Susanne Stampf, Helmut Hopfer, Thomas Menter, Lisa Senn, Gideon Hoenger, Caroline Wehmeier, Patrizia Amico, Jurg Steiger, Michael Koller, Michael Dickenmann, Stefan Schaub
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the clinical utility of urine CXCL10 monitoring in renal allografts. The results showed that urine CXCL10 monitoring did not have a significant beneficial effect on 1-year outcomes in renal transplantation.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Allergy
Martina Konantz, Margaret Williams, Tamara Merkel, Antonia Reiss, Stefan Dirnhofer, Sara C. Meyer, Peter Valent, Tracy I. George, Alexandar Tzankov, Karin Hartmann
Summary: This study found that serum levels of TIM-3 and galectin-9 are increased in patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis. Additionally, TIM-3 and galectin-9 are expressed in bone marrow infiltrates in mastocytosis. These findings suggest that TIM-3 and galectin-9 could be explored as diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets in systemic mastocytosis, particularly in advanced forms.
JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Carlos Faria, Alexandar Tzankov
Summary: Disease progression in myeloid neoplasms can occur through different types of transformations, such as MDS developing MPN features or MPN gaining MDS features. There are also other less well-known transformation types, which often involve extramedullary sites and specific mutations. Awareness of these transformation types is important for optimal patient management.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christoph Mamot, Andreas Wicki, Ursula Hasler-Strub, Salome Riniker, Qiyu Li, Lisa Holer, Daniela Bartschi, Khalil Zaman, Roger von Moos, Konstantin J. Dedes, Laura A. Boos, Urban Novak, Alexandre Bodmer, Reto Ritschard, Ellen C. Obermann, Alexandar Tzankov, Christoph Ackermann, Veronique Membrez-Antonioli, Ursina Zurrer-Hardi, Clemens B. Caspar, Stefanie Deuster, Martin Senn, Ralph Winterhalder, Christoph Rochlitz
Summary: The study developed a targeted nanocontainer drug for EGFR, which showed some efficacy in treating triple negative breast cancer, but did not significantly improve survival rates for advanced stage patients.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Thomas Menter, Carl P. Zinner, Christoph T. Berger, Philip Went, Alexandar Tzankov
Summary: This case series investigates three female patients who developed lymphadenopathy (LA) after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 vaccine. Pathologically, they showed similar patterns of follicular hyperplasia and extrafollicular blast activation. Two patients had short-lasting humoral immune responses to the vaccine. Gene expression profiling revealed that their immune response patterns were different from those of COVID-19, infectious mononucleosis, and non-specific follicular hyperplasia. The closest similarities were seen with lymph nodes showing extrafollicular activation of B-blasts and hemophagocytosis. The GEP of vaccine-induced LA suggested a limited immunologic memory.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Vanesa-Sindi Ivanova, John Davies, Thomas Menter, Damian Wild, Anne Muller, Fatime Krasniqi, Frank Stenner, Alexandros Papachristofilou, Stefan Dirnhofer, Alexandar Tzankov
Summary: This study comprehensively characterizes primary bone diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PB-DLBCL) as a separate entity with distinct clinical and morpho-molecular features.