Differential abundance of lipids and metabolites related to SARS- CoV-2 infection and susceptibility (preprint)

Background: The mechanisms driving SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility remain poorly understood, especially the factors determining why unvaccinated individuals remain uninfected despite high-risk exposures.  Objective: to understand lipid and metabolite profiles related with COVID-19 susceptibility and disease progression. Methods: we collected samples from an exceptional group of unvaccinated healthcare workers heavily exposed to SARS-CoV-2 but not infected (‘non-susceptible’) and subjects who became infected during the follow-up (‘susceptible’), including non-hospitalized and hospitalized patients with different disease severity providing samples at early disease stages. Then, we analyzed their plasma metabolomic profiles using mass spectrometry coupled with liquid and gas chromatography. Results:we show specific lipids profiles and metabolites that could explain SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 severity. More importantly, non-susceptible individuals show a unique lipidomic pattern characterized by the upregulation of most lipids, especially ceramides and sphingomyelin, which could be interpreted as markers of low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusion: this study strengthens the findings of other researchers about the importance of studying lipid profiles as relevant markers of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Care of Patients With HIV Infection (preprint)

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures have been associated with substantial disruptions to health care services, including screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and management of people living with HIV (PLWH). Methods: Data from 3265 patients were examined in a retrospective cohort study. We compared outpatient follow-up for PLWH, the number of new patients, treatment adherence, hospitalizations, and deaths during the “pandemic period” (March 2020 to February 2021) to the “pre-pandemic period” (the equivalent timeframe in 2019) and the “post-pandemic period” (March to September 2021). Results: During the pandemic period, the number of new patients seen at the HIV clinic (116), as well as the requested viral load tests (2414), decreased significantly compared to the pre-pandemic (204 and 2831, respectively) and post-pandemic periods (146 and 2640, respectively)(p<0.01 for all the comparisons). However, across the three study periods, the number of drug refills (1385, 1330, 1411, respectively), the number of patients with undetectable viral loads (85%, 90%, 93%, respectively), and the number of hospital admissions among PLWH remained constant. Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic impact, our findings show stability in the retention of clinical care, adherence to treatment, and viral suppression of PLWH, with no significant impact on hospitalization rates and all-cause mortality.