ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes COVID-19, has impacted the entire world due to its extensive and rapid spread. In the last two years, more than 412 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 5.8 million deaths, as of February 14, 2022. OBJECTIVE(S): Integrate a series of recommendations based on the best level of evidence in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including its new variants. METHODOLOGY: Review of different international guidelines and recent articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Issue recommendations based on the level of evidence and degree of confirmation established by the guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The authors analyzed the selected articles and, based on their experience, summarized the most relevant to meet the objectives of these recommendations. RESULT(S): 200 articles were found, of which only 124 were selected that met the requirements to identify the level of evidence and degree of recommendation. CONCLUSION(S): Prevention through vaccination continues to be the best tool to establish protection mechanisms against the virus and substantially reduce hospitalizations and associated mortality. Although homologous vaccination is still the accepted reference pattern, the efficacy of heterologous schemes to avoid hospitalization and mortality must be considered. Monoclonal experiments, such as sotrovimab, have activity against the Omicron variant and the AZD7442 molecule that have shown high efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in pre- and post-exposure conditions.Copyright © 2022 Comunicaciones Cientificas Mexicanas S.A. de C.V.. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the most common risk factor for lethal COVID19 and the risk factor that most increases the risk of death of COVID19 patients. Additionally, acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequent in COVID19 and AKI increases the risk of death. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of such increased risk are unclear. SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirusassociated receptors and factors (SCARFs) are required for and/or regulate (in a positive or negative manner) coronary cell entry and/or viral replication. We have now studied changes in the expression of genes encoding for SCARF in the context of acute and chronic kidney disease. METHOD: Data mining of in-house (experimental models of AKI -folic acid nephropathy- and CKD -Unilateral ureteral obstruction- in mice) and publicly available databases (Nephroseq, published single cell transcriptomics studies) of kidney tissue transcriptomics as well as the Protein Atlas database. RESULTS: Out of 28 SCARF genes identified by Singh et al (Cell Reports 2020), 26 were represented in the experimental AKI database. Of them 7 (27%) were differentially expressed during AKI (FDR <0.05), 4 of them upregulated and 3 downregulated (Figure 1.A). Additionally, 27 were represented in the experimental CKD database. Of them 17 (63%) were differentially expressed during experimental CKD, 6 of them upregulated and 11 downregulated (Figure 1.B). Two genes were consistently upregulated (Ctsl and Ifitm3) and two consistently downregulated (Tmprss2 and Top3b) in both experimental AKI and CKD (Figure 1.A and B). They encode cathepsin L, interferon induced transmembrane protein 3, transmembrane serine protease 2, DNA topoisomerase III beta, respectively. Single cell transcriptomics databases localized Ctsl expression mainly to podocytes and tubular cells while protein atlas showed clear tubular staining. The main site of Ifitm3 was endothelium in both datasets and it was also localized to leukocytes by single cell transcriptomics. Tmprss2 was mainly localized to tubular cells in both datasets while Top3b was widely expressed in parenchymal renal cells, endothelium and leucocytes in single cell transcriptomics. Increased kidney expression of Ifitm3 and decreased expression of Tmprss2 and Top3b were confirmed in diverse CKD datasets in Nephroseq. CONCLUSION: Both AKI and CKD are associated with differential expression of SCARF genes in kidney tissue, the impact of CKD appearing to be larger. Characterization of these changes and their functional impact in kidney tissue and beyond the kidneys may provide clues to the increased risk of severe or lethal COVID19 in kidney disease patients. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: The identification of minimally invasive and easily-accessible biomarkers to support the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospitalized patients constitutes a hot topic in clinical research. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as clinical indicators to assist in medical decision-making. Here, we aimed to examine the circulating miRNA profile of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to evaluate its potential as a source of biomarkers for the management of the disease. METHODS: Observational, prospective and multicenter study which included 84 patients with a positive nasopharyngeal swab PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, recruited during the first pandemic wave in Spain (March-May 2020). Patients were stratified according to disease severity: hospitalized patients admitted to the clinical wards without requiring critical care (n = 47) and hospitalized patients admitted to the ICU (n = 37). An additional study considering ICU non-survivors (n=17) and survivors (n = 20) was performed. Expression profiling of 41 miRNAs was performed in plasma samples using RT-qPCR. The panel included miRNAs associated with: i) immune/inflammatory response;ii) lung damage;iii) respiratory viral infections;iv) myocardial damage;v) coagulation. Quality control was performed using spike-ins and hemolysis tests. Predictive models were constructed using a variable selection process based on LASSO regression. RESULTS: Ten circulating miRNAs were deregulated in ICU compared to ward patients. LASSO analysis identified a signature of three miRNAs that displayed an optimal discrimination ability to distinguish between ICU and ward patients (AUC = 0.88) (Figure 1A). Among ICU patients, six miRNAs were downregulated when comparing nonsurvivors to survivors. A signature based on two miRNAs was found to be a relevant predictor of mortality during ICU stay (AUC = 0.84) (Figure 1B). The discrimination potential of the miRNA signature was higher than the observed for clinical laboratory parameters such as leukocyte counts (including neutrophil count, lymphocyte count and the neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio), CRP or D-dimer (maximum AUC for these variables = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: The severity of COVID-19 impacts on the circulating miRNA profile. The results suggest the potential usefulness of the circulating miRNA signature for the management of the disease over contemporaneous tests, at least in ICU patients.