Broad cross-neutralizing antibodies against animal-associated sarbecoviruses generated by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in humans (preprint)

The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2 highlight the need for countermeasures to prevent future coronavirus pandemics. Given the unpredictable nature of spillover events, preparing antibodies with broad coronavirus-neutralizing activity is an ideal proactive strategy. Here, we investigated whether SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination could provide cross-neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against zoonotic sarbecoviruses. We evaluated the cross-neutralizing profiles of plasma and monoclonal antibodies constructed from B cells from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescents and vaccine recipients; against sarbecoviruses originating from bats, civets, and pangolins; and against SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. We found that both SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination elicited broad cross-nAbs against multiple sarbecoviruses, and vaccination boosters significantly augmented the magnitude and breadth of nAbs to sarbecoviruses. Of the nAbs, several exhibited neutralization activity against multiple sarbecoviruses by targeting the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) and competing with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding. SCM12-61 demonstrated exceptional potency, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 0.001–0.091 μg/mL, indicating its potential for combating new sarbecovirus outbreaks. Collectively, our findings suggest that both SARS-CoV-2 infection and current vaccination schemes elicit broad cross-neutralizing antibodies against diverse sarbecoviruses, enforcing prevention and therapeutic strategies for future sarbecovirus spillover events.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis to determine the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections to Heart Failure patients (preprint)

Background: COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease, has become a major threat to humanity, and its extrapulmonary effects were also evident. Heart failure (HF) may be the result of myocardial damage associated with COVID-19. Methods: : To understand the relationship between SARS-COV-2 and HF, we used bioinformatics analysis to identify common pathways and molecular biomarkers for HF and COVID-19. In this study, two datasets (GSE152418, GSE57338) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of SARS-COV-2 infection in HF patients to find common pathways and drug candidates. Results: : A total of 123 common DEGs were identified in the two datasets. Using a variety of bioinformatics tools, we first constructed protein-protein interactions (PPI) and then identified hub genes that could be served as potential biomarkers or novel therapeutic strategies. In addition, some common associations between HF and the progression of COVID-19 infection were found by using functional under ontological terms and pathway analysis. Through the datasets, we also identified transcription factor-gene interactions, protein-drug interactions, and co-regulatory network of DEGs-miRNAs with common DEGs. We built gene-disease association network to represent diseases associated with mutual DEGs. Conclusions: : Our study has identified the candidate hub genes and drugs that might become a new therapeutic target for novel coronavirus vaccine development and treatment in COVID-19 and HF.

Using Baidu search values to monitor and predict the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China - evidence from Baidu Index (preprint)

Background: New coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a severe threat to human life and caused a global pandemic. The current research aimed to explore whether the search-engine query patterns could serve as a potential tool for monitoring the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: : We collected the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases between January 11, 2020, and April 22, 2020, from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The search index values of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, fatigue) were retrieved from the Baidu Index. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to analyze the association between the Baidu index values for each COVID-19-related symptom and the number of confirmed cases. Regional distributions among 34 provinces/ regions in China were also analyzed. Results: : Daily growth of confirmed cases and Baidu index values for each COVID-19-related symptom presented robust positive correlations during the outbreak (fever: r s =0.705, p =9.623×10 -6 ; cough: r s =0.592, p =4.485×10 -4 ; fatigue: r s =0.629, p =1.494×10 -4 ; sputum production: r s =0.648, p =8.206×10 -5 ; shortness of breath: r s =0.656, p =6.182×10-5). The average search-to-confirmed interval (STCI) was 19.8 days in China. The daily Baidu Index value's optimal time lags were the four days for cough, two days for fatigue, three days for sputum production, one day for shortness of breath, and 0 days for fever. Conclusion: The searches of COVID-19-related symptoms on the Baidu search engine were significantly correlated to the number of confirmed cases. Since the Baidu search engine could reflect the public's attention to the pandemic and the regional epidemics of viruses, relevant departments need to pay more attention to areas with high searches of COVID-19-related symptoms and take precautionary measures to prevent these potentially infected persons from further spreading.

Cure and mortality trend in the early outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China / 上海预防医学

[Objective] To investigate the cure and mortality trend in the early outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China, enhance the entire epidemiological knowledge about COVID-19, screen the more effective evaluation indicators, and supply the solid evidence for assessing the prevention and control measures and input-output. [Methods] The daily new confirmed cases, the cumulative cure and death cases in China and Hubei Province and outside Hubei Province, which were reported officially from January 20, 2020 to February 20, 2020, were collected to calculate the fatality rate, the ratio of the numbers of cumulative cure cases to cumulative death cases, et al, and to make the epidemiological description. [Results] Till Feb 20, 2020, the fatality rate of COVID-19 in Hubei Province was 3.42%, which was a little higher than that of the global country (2.96%). The fatality rate of COVID-19 outside Hubei Province in China was 0.71%. The trends on the indexes, including the daily new cure cases, daily new death and the ratio of cumulative cure cases to cumulative death, in Hubei Province and the whole country was highly consistent, while the significant difference existed between Hubei Province and outside Hubei Province in China. The daily ratio of cumulative cure cases to cumulative death in Hubei Province (the global country) exhibited the U trend, which reached to the lowest point on Jan 27 and subsequently grew more rapidly after Feb 5. [Conclusion] The ratio of cumulative cure cases to cumulative death was easier and effective to reflect the outbreak situation than other absolute indexes like the daily new cure cases or death. Since Feb 5, 2020, the daily cure status of COVID-19 was superior to the daily death, which indicated the effectiveness of series of the joint defense and control measures from our government and society. However, plenty of challenges exist when recovering the normal production and life if the epidemic reaches to be sustainably defensed and controlled.

The study of relationship between acute myocardial injury and coagulation function in patients with COVID-19 / 医学研究生学报

ObjectiveTo study the relationship between acute myocardial injury（AMI） and coagulation function in patients with COVID-19.MethodsA retrospective study was carried out to record the general and laboratory data of 133 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Wuhan TongJi Guanggu Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei Province from February 10 to February 29, 2020. The laboratory data includes blood routine, liver and renal function, myocardial infarction tests, coagulation function, inflammatory factors, hypersensitive C-reactive protein, procalcitonin etc. The patients were divided into two groups according to cardiac troponin I（TNI）34.2 ug/L. The differences of general conditions and laboratory data between the two groups were compared. Besides, the correlation between coagulation function and coagulation function, and the ROC curve of D-dimer in AMI were conducted .ResultsAmong the 133 patients, 9 (6.77%) had cTnI greater than 34.2 μg/L, and 124 (93.23%) had normal cTnI. There were significant differences between the two groups in age, COPD history, blood routine (neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count), myoglobin, liver function (direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin), cytokines (IL-2 receptor, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α), coagulation function (PT, PTA, D-dimer). D-dimer level was positively correlated with TnI, CK-MB and myoglobin levels. The cut off value of D-dimer was 2.35 μg/ml in acute myocardial injury.ConclusionAcute myocardial injury in COVID-19 patients may be related to coagulation dysfunction. Therefore, monitoring of coagulation function dynamically, screening of thrombus and starting anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy timely help to reduce acute myocardial injury.