Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Markus Hoffmann, Nadine Krueger, Sebastian Schulz, Anne Cossmann, Cheila Rocha, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Luise Graichen, Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer, Martin S. Winkler, Martin Lier, Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka, Hans-Martin Jaeck, Georg M. N. Behrens, Stefan Poehlmann
Summary: The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is spreading rapidly and shows resistance to most therapeutic antibodies. It also evades neutralization by antibodies induced by infection or vaccination more efficiently than the Delta variant. This suggests that therapeutic antibodies may not be effective against the Omicron variant, and double vaccination with BNT162b2 may not provide adequate protection against severe disease caused by this variant.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Carolina Balbi, Jacopo Burrello, Sara Bolis, Edoardo Lazzarini, Vanessa Biemmi, Enea Pianezzi, Alessio Burrello, Elena Caporali, Lorenzo Gauthier Grazioli, Gladys Martinetti, Tanja Fusi-Schmidhauser, Giuseppe Vassalli, Giorgia Melli, Lucio Barile
Summary: The study characterized the surface antigen profile of circulating extracellular vesicles (EV) in COVID-19 patients and found a specific surface marker signature that can differentiate COVID-19 patients. CD142 showed the highest discriminating performance and was found to be biologically active on the surface of EV in COVID-19 patients.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruoshi Peng, Chris Kedong Wang, Xuan Wang-Kan, Manja Idorn, Majken Kjaer, Felix Y. Zhou, Berthe Katrine Fiil, Frederik Timmermann, Susana L. Orozco, Julia McCarthy, Carol S. Leung, Xin Lu, Katrin Bagola, Jan Rehwinkel, Andrew Oberst, Jonathan Maelfait, Soren R. Paludan, Mads Gyrd-Hansen
Summary: A study has identified a ZBP1-induced inflammatory signaling pathway reliant on RIPK1 and RIPK3, separate from cell death, associated with cytokine production.
Article
Immunology
Qianting Yang, Yanling Wen, Furong Qi, Xiang Gao, Weixin Chen, Gang Xu, Cailing Wei, Haiyan Wang, Xian Tang, Jingyan Lin, Juanjuan Zhao, Mingxia Zhang, Shuye Zhang, Zheng Zhang
Summary: In patients with severe COVID-19, there is an increase in HLA-DRlow/- monocytes and a decrease in MAIT cells, along with impaired functional response. The unique pattern of immune dysregulation in severe COVID-19 is characterized by enrichment of suppressive HLA-DRlow/- monocytes associated with functional impairment of MAIT cells through the IFN/IL-10 pathway.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Hin Chu, Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan, Yixin Wang, Terrence Tsz-Tai Yuen, Yue Chai, Huiping Shuai, Dong Yang, Bingjie Hu, Xiner Huang, Xi Zhang, Yuxin Hou, Jian-Piao Cai, Anna Jinxia Zhang, Jie Zhou, Shuofeng Yuan, Kelvin Kai-Wang To, Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung, Tan To Cheung, Ada Tsui-Lin Ng, Ivy Hau-Yee Chan, Ian Yu-Hong Wong, Simon Ying-Kit Law, Dominic Chi-Chung Foo, Wai-Keung Leung, Kwok-Yung Yuen
Summary: The study found that SARS-CoV-2 could infect and replicate in human intestinal tissues ex vivo, but not in liver and kidney tissues. SARS-CoV-2 replicated less efficiently than SARS-CoV in human intestinal tissues, causing less cytopathology and inducing a more robust innate immune response.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pei Sen, Teresa K. Yamana, Sasikiran Kandula, Marta Galanti, Jeffrey Shaman
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2020 was characterized by increasing ascertainment rates, high population susceptibility, and rising community infectious rates, with infection fatality rate decreasing towards the end of the year.
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
Microbiology
Michael S. Piepenbrink, Jun-Gyu Park, Ashlesha Deshpande, Andreas Loos, Chengjin Ye, Madhubanti Basu, Sanghita Sarkar, Ahmed Magdy Khalil, David Chauvin, Jennifer Woo, Philip Lovalenti, Nathaniel B. Erdmann, Paul A. Goepfert, Vu L. Truong, Richard A. Bowen, Mark R. Walter, Luis Martinez-Sobrido, James J. Kobie
Summary: Researchers have identified antibodies with universal activity against coronaviruses and developed several monoclonal antibodies that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2. The most potent and broad antibody, 1249A8, can neutralize different variants of SARS-CoV-2. The study suggests that there is cooperativity between S1 and S2 specific neutralizing antibodies, and these antibodies have therapeutic potential and can guide the development of universal coronavirus vaccines.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ziyad Al-Aly, Benjamin Bowe, Yan Xie
Summary: This study analyzed the US Department of Veterans Affairs national healthcare databases to investigate the occurrence of Long COVID and death risk after breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings showed that vaccination significantly reduced the risk of death and post-acute sequelae but did not eliminate them completely. These results underscore the importance of further research on prevention and post-acute care for breakthrough infections.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hin Chu, Huiping Shuai, Yuxin Hou, Xi Zhang, Lei Wen, Xiner Huang, Bingjie Hu, Dong Yang, Yixin Wang, Chaemin Yoon, Bosco Ho-Yin Wong, Cun Li, Xiaoyu Zhao, Vincent Kwok-Man Poon, Jian-Piao Cai, Kenneth Kak-Yuen Wong, Man-Lung Yeung, Jie Zhou, Rex Kwok-Him Au-Yeung, Shuofeng Yuan, Dong-Yan Jin, Kin-Hang Kok, Stanley Perlman, Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan, Kwok-Yung Yuen
Summary: The study demonstrates that in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, the protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) signaling mediates apoptotic signals, and inhibiting PERK signaling or intrinsic apoptosis can alleviate MERS pathogenesis.
Article
Virology
Wen-qing Su, Xue-jie Yu, Chuan-min Zhou
Summary: The ORF3a protein of SARS-CoV-2 induces incomplete autophagy in a FIP200/Beclin-1-dependent manner and is involved in the induction of the UPR. The IRE1 and ATF6 pathways mediate the ORF3a-induced autophagy process. These findings enhance our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest new therapeutic approaches for treating COVID-19.
Article
Biology
Prabhuanand Selvaraj, Christopher Z. Lien, Shufeng Liu, Charles B. Stauft, Ivette A. Nunez, Mario Hernandez, Eric Nimako, Mario A. Ortega, Matthew F. Starost, John U. Dennis, Tony T. Wang
Summary: The study found that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces protective immunity in hamsters, preventing re-exposure and limiting transmission, which may help guide public health policies and vaccine development.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2021)
Article
Virology
Zhuanzhuan Wei, Yiyi Jiang, Gaomei Zhao, Chenwenya Li, Songling Han, Yin Chen, Tao Wang, Tianmin Cheng, Junping Wang, Cheng Wang
Summary: This study investigated the influence of irradiation on the vulnerability of cancer cells to SARS-CoV-2 and revealed that irradiation promotes viral infection through enhanced sphingolipid metabolism. The study also uncovered the underlying mechanism of sphingolipid metabolism in irradiation-induced SARS-CoV-2 infection.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Zheng Liu, Chenglu Yang, Haokun Zhang, Guojie Cao, Senzhen Wang, Siwen Yin, Yanming Wang
Summary: The study shows that the fusion protein of the receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 can bind ACE2 and block viral infection. Immunization with this fusion protein in mice produces highly effective neutralizing antibodies, indicating its potential as a treatment and preventive measure against COVID-19.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ya-Wen Cheng, Tai-Ling Chao, Chiao-Ling Li, Sheng-Han Wang, Han-Chieh Kao, Ya-Min Tsai, Hurng-Yi Wang, Chi-Ling Hsieh, You-Yu Lin, Pei-Jer Chen, Sui-Yuan Chang, Shiou-Hwei Yeh
Summary: The D614G substitution in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 enhances furin-mediated S cleavage, promoting syncytium formation, which may increase the transmissibility and infectivity. This study suggests a possible antiviral effect by targeting furin protease, which warrants further investigation in appropriate animal models.
Article
Hematology
Vijay Kondreddy, Jue Wang, Shiva Keshava, Charles T. Esmon, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao, Usha R. Pendurthi
Article
Hematology
Jhansi Magisetty, Usha R. Pendurthi, Charles T. Esmon, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao
Article
Hematology
Kaushik Das, Shiva Keshava, Shabbir A. Ansari, Vijay Kondreddy, Charles T. Esmon, John H. Griffin, Usha R. Pendurthi, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao
Summary: Studies showed that FVIIa induces the release of EVs from endothelial cells through the EPCR-PAR1 signaling pathway, contributing to the hemostatic effect of FVIIa.
Article
Hematology
Kaushik Das, Shiva Keshava, Usha R. Pendurthi, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao
Summary: This study reveals the interaction mechanism between FVIIa and endothelial cells, as well as the anti-inflammatory and vascular protective effects of FVIIa-released EVs. The results show that FVIIa induces the release of EEVs from endothelial cells through activation of PAR1 and the ROCK-dependent pathway. These EEVs are enriched with anti-inflammatory microRNAs, primarily miR10a. EEVs can be taken up by monocytes/macrophages and endothelial cells, thereby modulating their anti-inflammatory and barrier protective effects.
Article
Hematology
Jhansi Magisetty, Vijay Kondreddy, Shiva Keshava, Kaushik Das, Charles T. Esmon, Usha R. Pendurthi, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao
Summary: Recurrent spontaneous or trauma-related bleeding into joints in hemophilia leads to a debilitating joint disease called hemophilic arthropathy (HA). The treatment of HA involves preventing joint bleeding through clotting factor replacement and, in severe cases, orthopedic surgery. Recent research has shown that the administration of a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) that blocks the activity of activated protein C (APC) offers a therapeutic potential for reducing the severity of HA without compromising its cytoprotective signaling.
Letter
Hematology
Kaushik Das, Usha R. Pendurthi, Marylyn Manco-Johnson, Erika J. Martin, Donald F. Brophy, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao
JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS
(2022)
Article
Hematology
Vijay Kondreddy, Shiva Keshava, Kaushik Das, Jhansi Magisetty, L. Vijaya Mohan Rao, Usha R. Pendurthi
Summary: This study reveals the important role of the Gab2-MALT1 axis in thromboinflammation. Targeting this axis may be an effective strategy to treat DVT without inducing bleeding complications.