COVID-19 Vaccines, Effectiveness, and Immune Responses.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has captivated the globe's attention since its emergence in 2019. This highly infectious, spreadable, and dangerous pathogen has caused health, social, and economic crises. Therefore, a worldwide collaborative effort was made to find an efficient strategy to overcome and develop vaccines. The new vaccines provide an effective immune response that safeguards the community from the virus' severity. WHO has approved nine vaccines for emergency use based on safety and efficacy data collected from various conducted clinical trials. Herein, we review the safety and effectiveness of the WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines and associated immune responses, and their impact on improving the public's health. Several immunological studies have demonstrated that vaccination dramatically enhances the immune response and reduces the likelihood of future infections in previously infected individuals. However, the type of vaccination and individual health status can significantly affect immune responses. Exposure of healthy individuals to adenovirus vectors or mRNA vaccines causes the early production of antibodies from B and T cells. On the other hand, unhealthy individuals were more likely to experience harmful events due to relapses in their existing conditions. Taken together, aligning with the proper vaccination to a patient's case can result in better outcomes.

Saliva metabolomic profile of COVID-19 patients associates with disease severity.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is strongly linked to dysregulation of various molecular, cellular, and physiological processes that change abundance of different biomolecules including metabolites that may be ultimately used as biomarkers for disease progression and severity. It is important at early stage to readily distinguish those patients that are likely to progress to moderate and severe stages. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the utility of saliva and plasma metabolomic profiles as a potential parameter for risk stratifying COVID-19 patients. METHOD: LC-MS/MS-based untargeted metabolomics were used to profile the changes in saliva and plasma metabolomic profiles of COVID-19 patients with different severities. RESULTS: Saliva and plasma metabolites were screened in 62 COVID-19 patients and 18 non-infected controls. The COVID-19 group included 16 severe, 15 moderate, 16 mild, and 15 asymptomatic cases. Thirty-six differential metabolites were detected in COVID-19 versus control comparisons. SARS-CoV-2 induced metabolic derangement differed with infection severity. The metabolic changes were identified in saliva and plasma, however, saliva showed higher intensity of metabolic changes. Levels of saliva metabolites such as sphingosine and kynurenine were significantly different between COVID-19 infected and non-infected individuals; while linoleic acid and Alpha-ketoisovaleric acid were specifically increased in severe compared to non-severe patients. As expected, the two prognostic biomarkers of C-reactive protein and D-dimer were negatively correlated with sphingosine and 5-Aminolevulinic acid, and positively correlated with L-Tryptophan and L-Kynurenine. CONCLUSION: Saliva disease-specific and severity-specific metabolite could be employed as potential COVID-19 diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Long-COVID, Metabolic and Endocrine Disease.

In the aftermath of the corona pandemic, long-COVID or post-acute COVID-19 syndrome still represents a great challenge, and this topic will continue to represent a significant health problem in the coming years. At present, the impact of long-COVID on our health system cannot be fully assessed but according to current studies, up to 40% of people who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 suffer from clinically relevant symptoms of long-COVID syndrome several weeks to months after the acute phase. The main symptoms are chronic fatigue, dyspnea, and various cognitive symptoms. Initial studies have shown that people with overweight and diabetes mellitus have a higher risk of developing long-COVID associated symptoms. Furthermore, repeated treatment of acute COVID-19 and long-COVID with steroids can contribute to long-term metabolic and endocrine disorders. Therefore, a structured program with rehabilitation and physical activity as well as optimal dietary management is of utmost importance, especially for patients with metabolic diseases and/or long-COVID. Furthermore, the removal of autoantibodies and specific therapeutic apheresis procedures could lead to a significant improvement in the symptoms of long-COVID in individual patients.

N6-Acetyl-L-Lysine and p-Cresol as Key Metabolites in the Pathogenesis of COVID-19 in Obese Patients.

Despite the growing number of the vaccinated population, COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), remains a global health burden. Obesity, a metabolic syndrome affecting one-third of the population, has proven to be a major risk factor for COVID-19 severe complications. Several studies have identified metabolic signatures and disrupted metabolic pathways associated with COVID-19, however there are no reports evaluating the role of obesity in the COVID-19 metabolic regulation. In this study we highlight the involvement of obesity metabolically in affecting SARS-CoV-2 infection and the consequent health complications, mainly cardiovascular disease. We measured one hundred and forty-four (144) metabolites using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) to identify metabolic changes in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, in lean and obese COVID-19 positive (n=82) and COVID-19 negative (n=24) patients. The identified metabolites are found to be mainly correlating with glucose, energy and steroid metabolisms. Further data analysis indicated twelve (12) significantly yet differentially abundant metabolites associated with viral infection and health complications, in COVID-19 obese patients. Two of the detected metabolites, n6-acetyl-l-lysine and p-cresol, are detected only among the COVID-19 cohort, exhibiting significantly higher levels in COVID-19 obese patients when compared to COVID-19 lean patients. These metabolites have important roles in viral entry and could explain the increased susceptibility of obese patients. On the same note, a set of six metabolites associated with antiviral and anti-inflammatory functions displayed significantly lower abundance in COVID-19 obese patients. In conclusion, this report highlights the plasma metabolome of COVID-19 obese patients as a metabolic feature and signature to help improve clinical outcomes. We propose n6-acetyl-l-lysine and p-cresol as potential metabolic markers which warrant further investigations to better understand their involvement in different metabolic pathways in COVID-19.

Assessment of Uptake, Accumulation and Degradation of Paracetamol in Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) under Controlled Laboratory Conditions.

The occurrence and persistence of pharmaceuticals in the food chain, particularly edible crops, can adversely affect human and environmental health. In this study, the impacts of the absorption, translocation, accumulation, and degradation of paracetamol in different organs of the leafy vegetable crop spinach (Spinacia oleracea) were assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Spinach plants were exposed to 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, and 200 mg/L paracetamol in 20% Hoagland solution at the vegetative phase in a hydroponic system. Exposed plants exhibited pronounced phytotoxic effects during the eight days trial period, with highly significant reductions seen in the plants' morphological parameters. The increasing paracetamol stress levels adversely affected the plants' photosynthetic machinery, altering the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm and PSII), photosynthetic pigments (Chl a, Chl b and carotenoid contents), and composition of essential nutrients and elements. The LC-MS results indicated that the spinach organs receiving various paracetamol levels on day four exhibited significant uptake and translocation of the drug from roots to aerial parts, while degradation of the drug was observed after eight days. The VITEK® 2 system identified several bacterial strains (e.g., members of Burkhulderia, Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas and Kocuria) isolated from spinach shoots and roots. These microbes have the potential to biodegrade paracetamol and other organic micro-pollutants. Our findings provide novel insights to mitigate the risks associated with pharmaceutical pollution in the environment and explore the bioremediation potential of edible crops and their associated microbial consortium to remove these pollutants effectively.

A review of mass spectrometry-based analyses to understand COVID-19 convalescent plasma mechanisms of action.

The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) viral pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a worldwide pandemic claiming several thousands of lives worldwide. During this pandemic, several studies reported the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) from recovered patients to treat severely or critically ill patients. Although this historical and empirical treatment holds immense potential as a first line of response against eventual future unforeseen viral epidemics, there are several concerns regarding the efficacy and safety of this approach. This critical review aims to pinpoint the possible role of mass spectrometry-based analysis in the identification of unique molecular component proteins, peptides, and metabolites of CCP that explains the therapeutic mechanism of action against COVID-19. Additionally, the text critically reviews the potential application of mass spectrometry approaches in the search for novel plasma biomarkers that may enable a rapid and accurate assessment of the safety and efficacy of CCP. Considering the relative low-cost value involved in the CCP therapy, this proposed line of research represents a tangible scientific challenge that will be translated into clinical practice and help save several thousand lives around the world, specifically in low- and middle-income countries.