Detection and Isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in Serum, Urine, and Stool Specimens of COVID-19 Patients from the Republic of Korea.

OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infection characterized by the main symptoms of pneumonia and fever. It is caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is known to spread via respiratory droplets. We aimed to determine the rate and likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from COVID-19 patients through non-respiratory routes. METHODS: Serum, urine, and stool samples were collected from 74 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome was extracted from each specimen and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction performed. CaCo-2 cells were inoculated with the specimens containing the SARS-COV-2 genome, and subcultured for virus isolation. After culturing, viral replication in the cell supernatant was assessed. RESULTS: Of the samples collected from 74 COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 15 serum, urine, or stool samples. The virus detection rate in the serum, urine, and stool samples were 2.8% (9/323), 0.8% (2/247), and 10.1% (13/129), and the mean viral load was 1,210 ± 1,861, 79 ± 30, and 3,176 ± 7,208 copy/µL, respectively. However, the SARS-CoV-2 was not isolated by the culture method from the samples that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 gene. CONCLUSION: While the virus remained detectable in the respiratory samples of COVID-19 patients for several days after hospitalization, its detection in the serum, urine, and stool samples was intermittent. Since the virus could not be isolated from the SARS-COV-2-positive samples, the risk of viral transmission via stool and urine is expected to be low.

Identification of novel genes associated with HIV-1 latency by analysis of histone modifications.

BACKGROUND: A reservoir of HIV-1 is a major obstacle in eliminating HIV-1 in patients because it can reactivate in stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART). Histone modifications, such as acetylation and methylation, play a critical role in the organization of chromatin domains and the up- or downregulation of gene expression. Although many studies have reported that an epigenetic mechanism is strongly involved in the maintenance of HIV-1 transcriptional latency, neither the epigenetic control of viral replication nor how HIV-1 latency is maintained is not fully understood. RESULTS: We re-analyzed a high throughput parallel DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from previous work to investigate the effect of histone modifications, H3K4me3 and H3K9ac, on HIV-1 latency in terms of chromosome distribution. The outputs of ChIP-seq from uninfected CD4+ T cell lines and HIV-1 latently infected cells were aligned to hg18 using bowtie and then analyzed using various software packages. Certain chromosomes (16, 17, 19, and 22) were significantly enriched for histone modifications in both decreased and increased islands. In the same chromosomes in HIV-1 latently infected cells, 38 decreased and 41 increased islands from common islands of H3K4me3 and H3K9ac were selected for functional annotation. In Gene Ontology analysis, the 38 genes associated with decreased islands were involved in the regulation of biological process, regulation of cellular process, biological regulation, and purinergic receptor signaling pathway, while the 41 genes associated with increased islands were involved in nucleic acid binding, calcium-activated cation channel activity, DNA binding, and zinc ion binding. In Pathway Commons analysis, the 38 genes were strongly involved in the p63 transcription factor network, while the 41 genes were involved in the RNA polymerase III transcription termination pathway. Several genes such as Nuclear factor I X (NFIX) and TNF receptor association factor 4 (TRAF4) were selected as candidate genes for HIV latency. Especially, NFIX was highly expressed in HIV-1 latently infected cell lines and showed a dramatic reduction in expression after phorbol-13-myristate-12-acetate (PMA) treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the unique enrichment of histone modifications and its linked genes in specific chromosomes might play a critical role in the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 latency.

Synergistic reactivation of latent HIV-1 provirus by PKA activator dibutyryl-cAMP in combination with an HDAC inhibitor.

HIV-1 reservoirs remain a major barrier to HIV-1 eradication. Although combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) can successfully reduce viral replication, it cannot reactivate HIV-1 provirus in this reservoir. Therefore, HIV-1 provirus reactivation strategies by cell activation or epigenetic modification are proposed for the eradication of HIV-1 reservoirs. Although treatment with the protein kinase A (PKA) activator cyclic AMP (cAMP) or epigenetic modifying agents such as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) alone can induce HIV-1 reactivation in latently infected cells, the synergism of these agents has not been fully evaluated. In the present study, we observed that treatment with 500µM of dibutyryl-cAMP, 1µM of vorinostat, or 1µM of trichostatin A alone effectively reactivated HIV-1 in both ACH2 and NCHA1 cells latently infected with HIV-1 without cytotoxicity. In addition, treatment with the PKA inhibitor KT5720 reduced the increased HIV-1 p24 level in the supernatant of these cells. After dibutyryl-cAMP treatment, we found an increased level of the PKA substrate phosphorylated cyclic AMP response element-binding protein. When we treated cells with a combination of dibutyryl-cAMP and vorinostat or trichostatin A, the levels of HIV-1 p24 in the supernatant and levels of intracellular HIV-1 p24 were dramatically increased in both ACH2 and NCHA1 cells compared with those treated with a single agent. These results suggest that combined treatment with a PKA activator and an HDACi is effective for reactivating HIV-1 in latently infected cells, and may be an important approach to eradicate HIV-1 reservoirs.

Enhanced chromatin accessibility and recruitment of JUNB mediate the sustained IL-4 expression in NFAT1 deficient T helper 2 cells.

Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is a family of transcription factors composed of five proteins. Among them, NFAT1 is a predominant NFAT protein in CD4(+) T cells. NFAT1 positively regulates transcription of a large number of inducible cytokine genes including IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 and other cytokines. However, disruption of NFAT1 results in an unexpected increase of IL-4. In this study, we have investigated the role of NFAT1 in regulation of IL-4 gene expression in T helper 2 cells (Th2) from an epigenetic viewpoint. NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells showed a sustained IL-4 expression while wild type (WT) cells reduced its expression. We tested whether epigenetic maintenance and changes in the chromatin architecture of IL-4 promoter locus play a role in differential IL-4 transcription between in WT and NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells. Compared with WT, NFAT1 deficient CD4(+) Th2 cells exhibited enhanced chromatin accessibility with permissive histone modification and DNA demethylation in the IL-4 promoter region. Transcription factors bound to IL-4 promoter region in the absence of NFAT1 were identified by Micro-LC/LC-MS/MS analysis. Among the candidates, preferential recruitment of JUNB to the IL-4 promoter was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis. Overexpression of JUNB together with SATB1 synergistically upregulated IL-4 promoter activity, while knockdown JUNB significantly reduced IL-4 expression. Our results suggest that the prolonged IL-4 expression in NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells is mediated by preferential binding of JUNB/SATB1 to the IL-4 promoter with permissive chromatin architecture.

JunB and c-Rel cooperatively enhance Foxp3 expression during induced regulatory T cell differentiation.

The function and differentiation of induced regulatory T (iTreg) cells are tightly regulated by various signaling cascade. In this study, we have investigated the role of TCR signaling to induce Foxp3 gene expression in cooperation with TGF-ß/IL-2 stimulation. Activation of CD4(+) T cells by TCR signaling or TGF-ß/IL-2 alone failed to enhance Foxp3 expression. Only when TCR stimulation is coupled together with TGF-ß/IL-2, CD4(+) T cells expressed high levels of Foxp3 by maintaining open chromatin structure around its promoter region. Under this condition, stimulation-dependent recruitment of JunB together with c-Rel enhanced Foxp3 expression. Over expression of JunB and c-Rel significantly enhanced Foxp3 promoter activity while treatment of JunB siRNA or inhibition of TCR signaling by MAPK inhibitors significantly reduced Foxp3 expression. Collectively our results suggest that TCR signaling together with TGF-ß/IL-2 stimulation cooperatively enhance Foxp3 gene expression by maintaining accessible chromatin structure and by actively recruiting key transcription factors JunB and c-Rel.

Stat6 and c-Jun mediate Th2 cell-specific IL-24 gene expression.

TCR signaling regulates multiple aspects of T cell function by controlling expression of various cytokine genes. IL-24 is a multifunctional cytokine belonging to the IL-10 family. It displays anticancer effects in diverse cancer cells and regulates immunopathology of psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. IL-24 also plays an important role in B cell differentiation. Mouse IL-24 gene is selectively expressed in activated Th2 cells upon TCR stimulation. However, the molecular mechanisms by which TCR stimulation induces IL-24 gene expression are still unclear. In this study, to elucidate the mechanism of Th2 cell-specific expression of IL-24, we identified a proximal promoter region (-157/+95 bp) that plays critical role in activating the IL-24 gene in Th2 cells. This region has a Th2 cell-specific open chromatin structure along with permissive histone modifications. In vivo binding of Stat6 and AP-1 (c-Jun) to the IL-24 promoter locus in Th2 cells synergistically transactivated the IL-24 promoter. Stat6 and c-Jun proteins were found to physically cooperate with each other and upregulated IL-24 gene transcription. Knockdown of either Stat6 or c-Jun suppressed endogenous IL-24 gene expression in Th2 cells. In summary, TCR stimulation induces IL-24 expression in Th2 cells by the coordinate action of Stat6 and c-Jun transcription factors at the transcriptional level.

A distal cis-regulatory element, CNS-9, controls NFAT1 and IRF4-mediated IL-10 gene activation in T helper cells.

IL-10 is a multifunctional cytokine that plays a critical role in maintaining the balance between immunity and tolerance. Previously, we identified proximal regulatory elements and alterations of chromatin structure in the IL-10 gene loci of Th1 and Th2 cells. We have now characterized a crucial cis-regulatory element, CNS-9, located 9kb upstream of the transcription start site in IL-10 gene loci. The CNS-9 region is highly conserved in vertebrate genomes, and contains clustered NFAT and IRF binding motifs. In vitro binding of NFAT1 and IRF4 to the CNS-9 region was observed by EMSA. Furthermore, Th2-preferential in vivo binding of NFAT1 and IRF4 to the CNS-9 region was observed by ChIP. Cyclosporine A treatment on wild type Th2 cells or Th2 cells derived from NFAT1 knockout (NFAT1(-/-)) mice showed significantly reduced trans-activity of CNS-9. The Th2 subset-specific enhancer activity of CNS-9 was upregulated synergistically by NFAT1 and its partner IRF4. Mutations in the binding sites for NFAT1 and IRF4 abrogated its enhancer activity of CNS-9. Collectively, our results establish crucial roles for enhancer element CNS-9, and NFAT1 and IRF4 that bind to it, for IL-10 expression in differential T helper subsets.

Systematic reverse genetic screening of T-DNA tagged genes in rice for functional genomic analyses: MADS-box genes as a test case.

We have generated 47 DNA pools and 235 subpools from 21,049 T-DNA insertion lines of rice. DNA pools of 500-1,000 lines were adequate for screening a T-DNA insertion within a 2-kb region. To examine the efficacy of the DNA pools, we selected MADS-box genes, which play an important role in controlling various aspects of plant development. A total of 34 MIKC-type MADS-box genes have now been identified from rice sequence databases. Our PCR screening for T-DNA insertions within 12 MADS-box genes resulted in the identification of five insertions in four different genes. These DNA pools will be valuable when isolating T-DNA insertional mutants in various rice genes. The DNA pool screening service and the mutant seeds are available upon request to genean@postech.ac.kr.