ABSTRACT
Abstract Importance: The effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on immune responses during pregnancy have not been systematically evaluated. Objective: To assess the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy on inflammatory and humoral responses in maternal and fetal samples and compare antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 among pregnant and non-pregnant women. Design: Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed using samples from pregnant and non-pregnant women who had either tested positive or negative for SARS-CoV-2. We measured, proinflammatory and placental cytokine mRNAs, neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) receptor expression, and tetanus antibody transfer in maternal and cord blood samples. Additionally, we measured anti-spike (S) IgG, anti-S-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG, and neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses to SARS-CoV-2 in serum or plasma collected from non-pregnant women, pregnant women, and cord blood. Setting: Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) Participants: Pregnant women were recruited through JHH outpatient obstetric clinics and the JHH Labor & Delivery unit. Non-pregnant women were recruited after receiving outpatient SARS-CoV-2 testing within Johns Hopkins Health System, USA. Adult non-pregnant women with positive RT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2, within the age range of 18-48 years, were included in the study. Exposures: SARS-CoV-2 Main Outcomes and Measures: Participant demographic characteristics, antibody titers, cytokine mRNA expression, and FcRn receptor expression. Results: SARS-COV-2 positive pregnant women expressed more IL1{beta}, but not IL6, in blood samples collected within 14 days versus > 14 days after a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 test, with similar patterns observed in the fetal side of placentas, particularly among asymptomatic pregnant women. Pregnant women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection also had reduced anti-S-RBD IgG titers and were less likely to have detectable nAb as compared with non-pregnant women. Although SARS-CoV-2 infection did not disrupt FcRn expression in the placenta, maternal transfer of nAb was inhibited by SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Conclusions and Relevance: SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy was characterized by placental inflammation and reduced antiviral antibody responses, which may impact the efficacy of COVID-19 therapeutics in pregnancy. The long-term implications of placental inflammation for neonatal health also requires greater consideration.
Subject(s)
Tetanus , COVID-19 , InflammationABSTRACT
The term chimeric virus was not popular in the last decades. Recently, according to current sequencing efforts in discovering COVID-19 Secrets, the generated information assumed the presence of 6 Coronavirus main strains, but coronavirus diverges into hundreds of sub-strains. the bottleneck is the mutation rate. With two mutation/month, humanity will meet a new sub-strain every month. Tracking new sequenced viruses is urgently needed because of the pathogenic effect of the new sub-strains. here we introduce COVATOR, A user-friendly and python-based software that identifies viral chimerism. COVATOR aligns input genome and protein that has no known source, against genomes and protein with known source, then gives the user a graphical summary.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
The outbreak of new viruses, such as serve acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as the emerging of drug-resistance viruses highlight the urgent need for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Herein, we report the discovery of a plant-derived small molecule, 6,8-dihydroxy-9-isobutyl-2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-7-(3-methylbutanoyl)-4,9-dihydro-1H- xanthene-1,3(2H)-dione (rhodomyrtone, RDT), which exhibited potent broad-spectrum antiviral activities against several RNA and DNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). RDT can significantly suppress viral gene expression and show the low possibility to elicit drug-resistant variants. Mechanistic study implied that RDT inhibited viral infection by disturbing the cellular factors that essential for viral gene expression. Our results suggested that RDT might be a promising lead compound for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs.