ABSTRACT
Background: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) refers to immune-mediated destruction of platelets. Viral infections have been proposed as an etiology of ITP; antibodies developed in response to infection may cross-react with normal platelets and result in their destruction. Case Series: We report 2 cases in which coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) likely induced severe ITP. Conclusion: ITP may also play a role in the thrombocytopenia observed in some patients with COVID-19. ITP in this patient population may be more prevalent than currently documented.
ABSTRACT
A previous body of work in bovine and rodent models shows that cholinergic agonists modulate the secretion of steroid hormones from the adrenal cortex. In this study we used live-cell Ca2+ imaging to investigate cholinergic activity in the HAC15 human adrenocortical carcinoma cell line. The cholinergic agonists carbachol and acetylcholine triggered heterogeneous Ca2+ oscillations that were strongly inhibited by antagonists with high affinity for the M3 muscarinic receptor subtype, while preferential block of M1 or M2 receptors was less effective. Acute exposure to carbachol and acetylcholine modestly elevated aldosterone secretion in HAC15â¯cells, and this effect was also diminished by M3 inhibition. HAC15 cells expressed relatively high levels of mRNA for M3 and M2 receptors, while M1 and M5 mRNA were much lower. In conclusion, our data extend previous findings in non-human systems to implicate the M3 receptor as the dominant muscarinic receptor in the human adrenal cortex.
