Abandoned disposable masks become hot substrates for plastisphere, whether in soil, atmosphere or water.

A large number of surgical masks (SMs) to be discarded indiscriminately during the spread of COVID-19. The relationship between the changes of masks entering the environment and the succession of the microorganisms on them is not yet clear. The natural aging process of SMs in different environments (water, soil, and atmosphere) was simulated, the changes and succession of the microbial community on SMs with aging time were explored. The results showed that the SMs in water environment had the highest aging degree, followed by atmospheric environment, and SMs in soil had the lowest aging degree. The results of high-throughput sequencing demonstrated the load capacity of SMs for microorganisms, showed the important role of environment in determining microbial species on SMs. According to the relative abundance of microorganisms, it is found that compared with the water environment, the microbial community on SMs in water is dominated by rare species. While in soil, in addition to rare species, there are a lot of swinging strains on the SMs. Uncovering the ageing of SMs in the environment and its association with the colonization of microorganisms will help us understand the potential of microorganisms, especially pathogenic bacteria, to survive and migrate on SMs.

New insights into the regulatory roles of glutathione in NLRP3-inflammasome-mediated immune and inflammatory responses.

Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant non-protein thiol (-SH) in mammalian cells. Its synthesis and metabolism serve to maintain cellular reduction-oxidation (redox) homeostasis, which is important for multiple cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and death. An accumulating body of evidence suggests that the essential roles of GSH extended far beyond its oxidant and electrophile scavenger activities and regulatory role in the lifespan of cells. Recent findings revealed that altered GSH levels are closely associated with a wide range of pathologies including bacterial and viral infections, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune disorders, all of which are also characterized by aberrant activation of the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. As a result of these findings, GSH was assigned a central role in influencing the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. To expand on our recent advances in understanding this process, we discuss here the emerging roles of GSH in activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, and the therapeutic potential of GSH in its associated pathologies.

The Roles of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP4) and DPP4 Inhibitors in Different Lung Diseases: New Evidence.

CD26/Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein that is widely expressed in various organs and cells. It can also exist in body fluids in a soluble form. DPP4 participates in various physiological and pathological processes by regulating energy metabolism, inflammation, and immune function. DPP4 inhibitors have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. More evidence has shown the role of DPP4 in the pathogenesis of lung diseases, since it is highly expressed in the lung parenchyma and the surface of the epithelium, vascular endothelium, and fibroblasts of human bronchi. It is a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for various lung diseases. During the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) global pandemic, DPP4 was found to be an important marker that may play a significant role in disease progression. Some clinical trials on DPP4 inhibitors in COVID-19 are ongoing. DPP4 also affects other infectious respiratory diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome and non-infectious lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma. This review aims to summarize the roles of DPP4 and its inhibitors in infectious lung diseases and non-infectious diseases to provide new insights for clinical physicians.

Clinical characteristics, laboratory abnormalities and CT findings of COVID-19 patients and risk factors of severe disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging pandemic of global public health concern. We aimed to summarize the characteristics of COVID-19 patients in the early stage of the pandemic and explore the risk factors of disease progression. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis, searching three databases for studies published between January 1, 2020, and March 18, 2020. We used random-effects models to calculate the 95% confidence intervals of pooled estimated prevalence and the odds ratio between the severe and nonsevere cases. RESULTS: Ninety studies involving 16,526 COVID-19 patients were included. Hypertension (19.1%) and diabetes (9.5%) were the most common comorbidities. The most prevalent clinical symptoms were fever (78.4%), cough (58.5%), and fatigue (26.4%). Increased serum ferritin (74.2%), high C-reactive protein (73.3%), and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (72.2%) were the most frequently reported laboratory abnormalities. Most patients had bilateral lung involvement (82.2%) and showed peripheral (66.9%) and subpleural (62.1%) distribution, with multifocal involvement (73.1%). And the most common CT features were vascular enlargement (64.3%), ground-glass opacity (GGO) (60.7%), and thickened interlobular septa (55.1%). Respiratory failure was the most common complication (30.7%) and the overall case-fatality rate (CFR) was 4.2%. Moreover, male, history of smoking, and comorbidities might influence the prognosis. Most clinical symptoms such as fever, high fever, cough, sputum production, fatigue, shortness of breath, dyspnoea, and abdominal pain were linked to the severity of disease. Some specific laboratory indicators implied the deterioration of disease, such as leucocytosis, lymphopenia, platelet, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin, creatinine, creatine kinase (CK), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein, procalcitonin (PCT), and D-dimer. Besides, the risk of bilateral pneumonia, consolidation, pleural effusion, and enlarged mediastinal nodes was higher in severe cases. CONCLUSIONS: Most COVID-19 patients have fever and cough with lymphopenia and increased inflammatory indices, and the main CT feature is GGO involved bilateral lung. Patients with comorbidities and worse clinical symptoms, laboratory characteristics, and CT findings tend to have poor disease progression.