ABSTRACT
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shares some similarities with IPF. SARS-CoV-2 related genes have been reported to be broadly regulated by N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification. Here, we identified the association between m6A methylation regulators, COVID-19 infection pathways, and immune responses in IPF. The characteristic gene expression networks and immune infiltration patterns of m6A-SARS-CoV-2 related genes in different tissues of IPF were revealed. We subsequently evaluated the influence of these related gene expression patterns and immune infiltration patterns on the prognosis/lung function of IPF patients. The IPF cohort was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to identify the correlations among genes or cells. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to assess the infiltration of 22 types of immune cells. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and proportional hazards model (Cox model) were used to develop the prognosis prediction model. Our research is pivotal for further understanding of the cellular and genetic links between IPF and SARS-CoV-2 infection in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contribute to providing new ideas for prognosis assessment and treatment of both diseases.
Subject(s)
Adenosine/analogs & derivatives , COVID-19/genetics , Gene Regulatory Networks , Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis/genetics , Adenosine/genetics , Adenosine/immunology , Algorithms , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/immunology , Humans , Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis/diagnosis , Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis/immunology , Immunity , Immunity, Cellular , Prognosis , RNA/genetics , RNA/immunology , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Throughout China, during the recent epidemic in Hubei province, frontline medical staff have been responsible for tracing contacts of patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). This study aimed to investigate the psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan province, adjacent to Hubei province, during the COVID19 outbreak between January and March 2020. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional observational study included doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff throughout Hunan province between January and March 2020. The study questionnaire included five sections and 67 questions (scores, 0-3). The chi-squared χ² test was used to compare the responses between professional groups, age-groups, and gender. RESULTS Study questionnaires were completed by 534 frontline medical staff. The responses showed that they believed they had a social and professional obligation to continue working long hours. Medical staff were anxious regarding their safety and the safety of their families and reported psychological effects from reports of mortality from COVID19 infection. The availability of strict infection control guidelines, specialized equipment, recognition of their efforts by hospital management and the government, and reduction in reported cases of COVID19 provided psychological benefit. CONCLUSIONS The COVID19 outbreak in Hubei resulted in increased stress for medical staff in adjacent Hunan province. Continued acknowledgment of the medical staff by hospital management and the government, provision of infection control guidelines, specialized equipment and facilities for the management of COVID19 infection should be recognized as factors that may encourage medical staff to work during future epidemics.