Inflammasome activation and pulmonary viral loads define two distinct clinical outcomes in COVID-19 (preprint)

Inflammasome activation is associated with disease severity in patients who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses, but the specific cell types involved in inflammasome activation, as well as the balance of inflammasome activation versus viral replication in COVID-19 exacerbation and the induction of patient death, are unknown. In this study, we assessed lung autopsies of 47 COVID-19 and 12 influenza fatal cases and examined the inflammatory profiles and inflammasome activation; additionally, we correlated these factors with clinical and histopathological patient conditions. We observed an overall stronger inflammasome activation in lethal cases of SARS-CoV-2 compared to influenza and found a different profile of inflammasome-activating cells during these diseases. In COVID-19 patients, inflammasome activation is mostly mediated by macrophages and endothelial cells, whereas in influenza, type I and type II pneumocytes contribute more significantly. An analysis of gene expression allowed for the classification of COVID-19 patients into two different clusters. Cluster 1 (n=16 patients) died with higher viral loads and exhibited a reduced inflammatory profile than Cluster 2 (n=31 patients). Illness time, mechanical ventilation time, pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory functions, histopathological status, thrombosis, and inflammasome activation significantly differed between the two clusters. Our data demonstrated two distinct profiles in lethal cases of COVID-19, thus indicating that the balance of viral replication and inflammasome-mediated pulmonary inflammation may lead to different clinical conditions, yet both lead to patient death. An understanding of this process is critical for decisions between immune-mediated or antiviral-mediated therapies for the treatment of critical cases of COVID-19.

Zebrafish studies on the vaccine candidate to COVID-19, the Spike protein: Production of antibody and adverse reaction (preprint)

Establishing new experimental animal models to assess the safety and immune response to the antigen used in the development of COVID-19 vaccine is an imperative issue. Based on the advantages of using zebrafish as a model in research, herein we suggest doing this to test the safety of the putative vaccine candidates and to study immune response against the virus. We produced a recombinant N-terminal fraction of the Spike SARS-CoV-2 protein and injected it into adult female zebrafish. The specimens generated humoral immunity and passed the antibodies to the eggs. However, they presented adverse reactions and inflammatory responses similar to severe cases of human COVID-19. The analysis of the structure and function of zebrafish and human Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the main human receptor for virus infection, presented remarkable sequence similarities. Moreover, bioinformatic analysis predicted protein-protein interaction of the Spike SARS-CoV-2 fragment and the Toll-like receptor pathway. It might help in the choice of future therapeutic pharmaceutical drugs to be studied. Based on the in vivo and in silico results presented here, we propose the zebrafish as a model for translational research into the safety of the vaccine and the immune response of the vertebrate organism to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.