Review
Microbiology
Wern Hann Ng, Thomas Tipih, Nigel A. Makoah, Jan-G Vermeulen, Dominique Goedhals, Joseph B. Sempa, Felicity J. Burt, Adam Taylor, Suresh Mahalingam
Summary: Hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus are the most prevalent comorbidities in COVID-19 patients, while chronic kidney disease stands out as the most prominent factor leading to death. However, despite its high prevalence, obesity is not associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Antonella Agodi, Andrea Maugeri, Giuliana Favara, Roberta Magnano San Lio, Martina Puglisi, Dario Sinatra, Giuseppe Liberti, Martina Barchitta
Summary: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study aimed to investigate gender differences in characteristics and outcomes of patients. The analysis showed that males were younger and more likely to have diabetes, other metabolic diseases, and obesity. Both male and female patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, or chronic neurological diseases had a higher risk of death. Among males, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases were significant risk factors, while among females, cancer was a significant contributor to COVID-19 mortality.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Chang-Sheng Xia, Minghua Zhan, Yudong Liu, Zhi-Hong Yue, Ying Song, Feifei Zhang, Hui Wang
Summary: This study assessed the levels of protective antibodies in SARS survivors with and without the COVID-19 vaccine, and found that SARS survivors have protective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 even without vaccination, and generate a stronger antibody response after vaccination compared to controls.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Sudhvir Singh, Christine Mcnab, Rose McKeon Olson, Nellie Bristol, Cody Nolan, Elin Bergstrom, Michael Bartos, Shunsuke Mabuchi, Raj Panjabi, Abraar Karan, Salma M. Abdalla, Mathias Bonk, Margaret Jamieson, George K. Werner, Anders Nordstrom, Helena Legido-Quigley, Alexandra Phelan
Summary: The independent panel has conducted a retrospective analysis of events, actions, and recommendations during the outbreak from late 2019 to early 2020, revealing both rapid responses and areas where improvements could have been made. Furthermore, countries with previous experience in handling similar outbreaks were more successful in containing the virus at the initial stage.
Review
Microbiology
Liqing Wang, Hao-Yun Peng, Aspen Pham, Eber Villazana, Darby J. Ballard, Jugal Kishore Das, Anil Kumar, Xiaofang Xiong, Jianxun Song
Summary: Over the past three years, COVID-19 has emerged as a growing global health concern. We have summarized the performance of T cells during coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 with other viruses, bacteria, and parasites, and determined if these alterations in T cell status affect clinical outcomes. Additionally, we have investigated T cell alterations in patients with diabetes, asthma, and hypertension during SARS-CoV-2 infection and summarized whether changes in T cell response influence clinical outcomes in comorbidities.
Article
Immunology
Alok R. Amraotkar, Adrienne M. Bushau-Sprinkle, Rachel J. Keith, Krystal T. Hamorsky, Kenneth E. Palmer, Hong Gao, Shesh N. Rai, Aruni Bhatnagar
Summary: The presence of chronic health conditions, especially chronic kidney disease and autoimmune disease, increases the likelihood of seronegative status among individuals who are fully vaccinated to SARS-CoV-2. The absence of any chronic health conditions is protective and increases the likelihood of a positive serological response. The risk of seronegative status increases with an increase in the number of comorbidities and the use of CHC-related medications.
Article
Cell Biology
James W. Saville, Dhiraj Mannar, Xing Zhu, Alison M. Berezuk, Spencer Cholak, Katherine S. Tuttle, Faezeh Vahdatihassani, Sriram Subramaniam
Summary: The BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, characterized by mutations in the spike (S) glycoprotein, quickly replaced the original BA.1 sub-lineage in early 2022. These mutations enabled increased binding to ACE2 receptors and posed a threat to vaccine efficacy. Cryo-EM analysis revealed structural changes in the S protein and ACE2 complexes, explaining the enhanced interaction and decreased binding of antibodies from BA.1-convalescent patients to the BA.2 variant. This study provides insights into the structural mechanisms underlying antigenic drift in the rapidly evolving Omicron variant landscape.
Article
Biology
Manoj Kumar Singh, Ahmed Mobeen, Amit Chandra, Sweta Joshi, Srinivasan Ramachandran
Summary: Comorbidities in COVID-19 patients often lead to more severe outcomes. Disease-specific molecular events that may induce susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection are being investigated. Gene expression patterns in leukemia, NAFLD, T2D, psoriasis, and PAH patients show similarities to those in the lungs of COVID-19 patients, suggesting a possible need for additional preventive care against acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infections.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2021)
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.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Miguel Rodriguez-Barranco, Lorenzo Rivas-Garcia, Jose L. Quiles, Daniel Redondo-Sanchez, Pilar Aranda-Ramirez, Juan Llopis-Gonzalez, Maria Jose Sanchez Perez, Cristina Sanchez-Gonzalez
Summary: The study on the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain found that factors such as living with a COVID-19 patient, walking the dog, and disinfecting purchased products at home were linked to increased infection risk. Working on site at the workplace and using home delivery for basic commodities were identified as factors increasing the prevalence of the disease.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sagnik Sen, Ashmita Dey, Sanghamitra Bandhyopadhyay, Vladimir N. Uversky, Ujjwal Maulik
Summary: The causative agent of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is a coronavirus with five major protein classes, and research focuses on the evolutionary sequences, structures, and interactions between viral and host proteins. It has been found that androgen-mediated protein transmembrane serine protease 2 may make males and postmenopausal females more vulnerable to infection.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Maria Antonietta Isgro, Maria Grazia Vitale, Egidio Celentano, Flavia Nocerino, Giuseppe Porciello, Marcello Curvietto, Domenico Mallardo, Concetta Montagnese, Luigi Russo, Nicoletta Zanaletti, Antonio Avallone, Matilde Pensabene, Michelino De Laurentiis, Sara Centonze, Sandro Pignata, Lucia Cannella, Alessandro Morabito, Francesco Caponigro, Gerardo Botti, Giuseppe Valentino Masucci, Diana Giannarelli, Ernesta Cavalcanti, Paolo Antonio Ascierto
Summary: This study investigated the proportion of COVID-19 infection among cancer patients and healthcare providers in Naples, Italy, finding a significantly lower positivity rate among patients receiving ICIs treatment, suggesting ICIs treatment may be a protective factor against COVID-19 infection.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Pediatrics
Giorgio Cozzi, Aleksandar Sovtic, Davide Garelli, Uros Krivec, Davide Silvagni, Ilaria Corsini, Marco Colombo, Manuela Giangreco, Antonietta Giannattasio, Gregorio Paolo Milani, Marta Minute, Federico Marchetti, Antonio Gatto, Carla Debbia, Anna Jolanda Gortan, Marta Massaro, Elpis Hatziagorou, Domenico Ravida, Raz Diamand, Elizabeth Jones, Jelena Visekruna, Alessandro Zago, Egidio Barbi, Alessandro Amaddeo, Luisa Cortellazzo Wiel
Summary: This study describes the main clinical characteristics of infants with SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis compared to infants with bronchiolitis associated with other viruses. The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 rarely causes bronchiolitis in infants and the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2-related bronchiolitis is mostly mild.
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Sicong Yu, Keda Che, Lei Fang, Haiyan Mao, Xiuyu Lou, Chaonan Li, Yanjun Zhang
Summary: SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV pose a great threat to humanity, and the development of vaccines is crucial in combating these coronaviruses. Different types of vaccines are being researched and developed, with studies on neutralizing antibodies helping to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of the vaccines.
Article
Virology
Natalia Ruetalo, Bertram Flehmig, Michael Schindler, Lutz Pridzun, Angelika Haage, Marija Reichenbaecher, Thomas Kirchner, Teresa Kirchner, Karin Klingel, Michael B. Ranke, Andrea Normann
Summary: The study found that antibodies and neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 may persist for a long time after recovery from COVID-19, and vaccination can rapidly boost antibodies against the S1 protein, but not the N protein. The use of the WHO reference standard may be valuable in assessing individual immune status post-infection or vaccination.
