Sex differences in the immune response to acute COVID-19 respiratory tract infection

Determine if sex differences exist in clinical characteristics and outcomes of adults hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a US healthcare system. Case series study. Sequentially hospitalized adults admitted for COVID-19 at two tertiary care academic hospitals in New Orleans, LA, between 27 February and 15 July 2020. Measures included demographics, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, and laboratory results. Outcomes included intensive care unit admission (ICU), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and in-hospital death. We included 776 patients (median age 60.5 years; 61.4% women, 75% non-Hispanic Black). Rates of ICU, IMV, and death were similar in both sexes. In women versus men, obesity (63.8 vs 41.6%, P < 0.0001), hypertension (77.6 vs 70.1%, P = 0.02), diabetes (38.2 vs 31.8%, P = 0.06), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 22.1 vs 15.1%, P = 0.015), and asthma (14.3 vs 6.9%, P = 0.001) were more prevalent. More women exhibited dyspnea (61.2 vs 53.7%, P = 0.04), fatigue (35.7 vs 28.5%, P = 0.03), and digestive symptoms (39.3 vs 32.8%, P = 0.06) than men. Obesity was associated with IMV at a lower BMI (> 35) in women, but the magnitude of the effect of morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40) was similar in both sexes. COPD was associated with ICU (adjusted OR (aOR), 2.6; 95%CI, 1.5–4.3) and IMV (aOR, 1.8; 95%CI, 1.2–3.1) in women only. Diabetes (aOR, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.2–2.9), chronic kidney disease (aOR, 2.2; 95%CI, 1.3–5.2), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (aOR, 2.5; 95%CI, 1.4–4.3), and elevated ferritin (aOR, 3.6; 95%CI, 1.7–7.3) were independent predictors of death in women only. In contrast, elevated D-dimer was an independent predictor of ICU (aOR, 7.3; 95%CI, 2.7–19.5), IMV (aOR, 6.5; 95%CI, 2.1–20.4), and death (aOR, 4.5; 95%CI, 1.2–16.4) in men only. This study highlights sex disparities in clinical determinants of severe outcomes in COVID-19 patients that may inform management and prevention strategies to ensure gender equity.     

A full body musculoskeletal model based on flexible multibody simulation approach utilised in bone strain analysis during human locomotion

Load-induced strains applied to bone can stimulate its development and adaptation. In order to quantify the incident strains within the skeleton, in vivo implementation of strain gauges on the surfaces of bone is typically used. However, in vivo strain measurements require invasive methodology that is challenging and limited to certain regions of superficial bones only such as the anterior surface of the tibia. Based on our previous study [Al Nazer et al. (2008) J Biomech. 41:1036–1043], an alternative numerical approach to analyse in vivo strains based on the flexible multibody simulation approach was proposed. The purpose of this study was to extend the idea of using the flexible multibody approach in the analysis of bone strains during physical activity through integrating the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique within the framework. In order to investigate the reliability and validity of the proposed approach, a three-dimensional full body musculoskeletal model with a flexible tibia was used as a demonstration example. The model was used in a forward dynamics simulation in order to predict the tibial strains during walking on a level exercise. The flexible tibial model was developed using the actual geometry of human tibia, which was obtained from three-dimensional reconstruction of MRI. Motion capture data obtained from walking at constant velocity were used to drive the model during the inverse dynamics simulation in order to teach the muscles to reproduce the motion in the forward dynamics simulation. Based on the agreement between the literature-based in vivo strain measurements and the simulated strain results, it can be concluded that the flexible multibody approach enables reasonable predictions of bone strain in response to dynamic loading. The information obtained from the present approach can be useful in clinical applications including devising exercises to prevent bone fragility or to accelerate fracture healing.     

The Induction of Phagocytic Activation by Mixtures of the Water Chlorination By‐Products,Dichloroacetate‐ and Trichloroacetate,in Mice after Subchronic Exposure

In this study, groups of B6C3F1 male mice were treated with dichloroacetate (DCA), trichloroacetate (TCA), and mixtures of the compounds (Mix I, II, and III) daily by gavage, for 13 weeks. The tested doses were 7.5, 15, and 30 mg DCA/kg/day and 12.5, 25, and 50 mg TCA/kg/day. The DCA: TCA ratios in Mix I, II, and III were 7.5:12.5, 15:25, and 30:50 mg/kg/day, respectively. Peritoneal lavage cells were collected at the end of the treatment period and assayed for the biomarkers of phagocytic activation, including superoxide anion and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha production, and myeloperoxidase activity. The mixtures produced nonlinear effects on the biomarkers of phagocytic activation, with Mix I and II effects were found to be additive, but Mix III effects were found to be less than additive. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J BiochemMol Toxicol 27:237‐242, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/jbt.21476     

Effect of GA3 and 2,4-D foliar application on the anatomy of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seedling leaf

Two concentrations (10-5M and 10-3M) of both GA3 and 2,4-D were used as foliar spray to evaluate the response of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cv. Khedri seedlings. They affected some of the anatomical characteristics of the first leaf emerging after the beginning of the spray. The high concentration of GA3 increased the size of the midrib and its vascular bundle numbers. Both low and high concentrations of 2,4-D inhibited the formation of the midrib. 2,4-D in both low and high concentrations decreased the number of vessels in both protoxylem and metaxylem and also decreased their diameters, where as GA3 in low and high concentrations have less effect on the number of vessels and its diameters. GA3 in high concentration increased the number of vascular bundles in 1mm long of the leaf blade, while 2,4-D in low and high concentrations decreased their numbers. 10-3M of 2,4-D increased the size and layers of special hypodermal cells.     

TNFR1 determines progression of chronic liver injury in the IKKγ/Nemo genetic model

Death receptor-mediated hepatocyte apoptosis is implicated in a wide range of liver diseases including viral and alcoholic hepatitis, ischemia/reperfusion injury, fulminant hepatic failure, cholestatic liver injury, as well as cancer. Deletion of NF-κB essential modulator in hepatocytes (IKKγ/Nemo) causes spontaneous progression of TNF-mediated chronic hepatitis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thus, we analyzed the role of death receptors including TNFR1 and TRAIL in the regulation of cell death and the progression of liver injury in IKKγ/Nemo-deleted livers. We crossed hepatocyte-specific IKKγ/Nemo knockout mice (Nemo^Δhepa) with constitutive TNFR1^−/− and TRAIL^−/− mice. Deletion of TNFR1, but not TRAIL, decreased apoptotic cell death, compensatory proliferation, liver fibrogenesis, infiltration of immune cells as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines, and indicators of tumor growth during the progression of chronic liver injury. These events were associated with diminished JNK activation. In contrast, deletion of TNFR1 in bone-marrow-derived cells promoted chronic liver injury. Our data demonstrate that TNF- and not TRAIL signaling determines the progression of IKKγ/Nemo-dependent chronic hepatitis. Additionally, we show that TNFR1 in hepatocytes and immune cells have different roles in chronic liver injury–a finding that has direct implications for treating chronic liver disease.     

The PPARα agonist fenofibrate suppresses B-cell lymphoma in mice by modulating lipid metabolism

Obesity is associated with an increased risk for malignant lymphoma development. We used Bcr/Abl transformed B cells to determine the impact of aggressive lymphoma formation on systemic lipid mobilization and turnover. In wild-type mice, tumor size significantly correlated with depletion of white adipose tissues (WAT), resulting in increased serum free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations which promote B-cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, B-cell tumor development induced hepatic lipid accumulation due to enhanced hepatic fatty acid (FA) uptake and impaired FA oxidation. Serum triglyceride, FFA, phospholipid and cholesterol levels were significantly elevated. Consistently, serum VLDL/LDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels were drastically increased. These findings suggest that B-cell tumors trigger systemic lipid mobilization from WAT to the liver and increase VLDL/LDL release from the liver to promote tumor growth. Further support for this concept stems from experiments where we used the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist and lipid-lowering drug fenofibrate that significantly suppressed tumor growth independent of angiogenesis and inflammation. In addition to WAT depletion, fenofibrate further stimulated FFA uptake by the liver and restored hepatic FA oxidation capacity, thereby accelerating the clearance of lipids released from WAT. Furthermore, fenofibrate blocked hepatic lipid release induced by the tumors. In contrast, lipid utilization in the tumor tissue itself was not increased by fenofibrate which correlates with extremely low expression levels of PPARα in B-cells. Our data show that fenofibrate associated effects on hepatic lipid metabolism and deprivation of serum lipids are capable to suppress B-cell lymphoma growth which may direct novel treatment strategies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Lipid Metabolism in Cancer.     

Characterization of water and wildlife strains as a subgroup of Campylobacter jejuni using DNA microarrays

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, but source attribution of the organism is difficult. Previously, DNA microarrays were used to investigate isolate source, which suggested a non‐livestock source of infection. In this study we analysed the genome content of 162 clinical, livestock and water and wildlife (WW) associated isolates combined with the previous study. Isolates were grouped by genotypes into nine clusters (C1 to C9). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data demonstrated that livestock associated clonal complexes dominated clusters C1–C6. The majority of WW isolates were present in the C9 cluster. Analysis of previously reported genomic variable regions demonstrated that these regions were linked to specific clusters. Two novel variable regions were identified. A six gene multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay, designed to effectively differentiated strains into clusters, was validated with 30 isolates. A further five WW isolates were tested by mPCR and were assigned to the C7‐C9 group of clusters. The predictive mPCR test could be used to indicate if a clinical case has come from domesticated or WW sources. Our findings provide further evidence that WW C. jejuni subtypes show niche adaptation and may be important in causing human infection.     

Does the presence of grassy strips and landscape grain affect the spatial distribution of aphids and their carabid predators?

• 1 We investigated, over the course of 2 years, the spatial distribution and abundance of two species of aphid, Metopolophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae, and predatory species of carabid. This was undertaken in 24 wheat fields in ‘coarse‐grain’ and ‘fine‐grain’ landscapes in western France. A greater percentage of the latter landscape was covered by hedgerows and grassland and the total area covered by fields and the average size of the fields were smaller.
• 2 The effects on aphid abundance of the distance from field margins, the presence of grassy strips and carabid abundance were determined in both landscapes.
• 3 Both aphid species were more abundant in the ‘fine‐grain’ landscape, which may have been a result of the higher density of semi‐natural elements. In both types of landscape, the total numbers of aphids were negatively correlated with the distance from the field margin. This may have been because aphids were dispersing from overwintering sites in field margins. The abundance of M. dirhodum was strongly negatively correlated with the presence of grassy strips in the ‘coarse‐grain’ landscape, although there were no such significant correlations for either of the aphid species in the ‘fine‐grain’ landscape.
• 4 Aphid and carabid abundances were negatively correlated in the ‘fine‐grain’ and positively in ‘coarse‐grain’ landscape.
• 5 The results obtained in the present study emphasize the importance of semi‐natural areas in agricultural landscapes in shaping the spatial distribution of aphids and carabid beetles, their natural enemies, at different spatial scales.

     

Frondoside A Suppressive Effects on Lung Cancer Survival,Tumor Growth,Angiogenesis, Invasion,and Metastasis

A major challenge for oncologists and pharmacologists is to develop less toxic drugs that will improve the survival of lung cancer patients. Frondoside A is a triterpenoid glycoside isolated from the sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa and was shown to be a highly safe compound. We investigated the impact of Frondoside A on survival, migration and invasion in vitro, and on tumor growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in vivo alone and in combination with cisplatin. Frondoside A caused concentration-dependent reduction in viability of LNM35, A549, NCI-H460-Luc2, MDA-MB-435, MCF-7, and HepG2 over 24 hours through a caspase 3/7-dependent cell death pathway. The IC50 concentrations (producing half-maximal inhibition) at 24 h were between 1.7 and 2.5 µM of Frondoside A. In addition, Frondoside A induced a time- and concentration-dependent inhibition of cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis in vitro. Frondoside A (0.01 and 1 mg/kg/day i.p. for 25 days) significantly decreased the growth, the angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis of LNM35 tumor xenografts in athymic mice, without obvious toxic side-effects. Frondoside A (0.1–0.5 µM) also significantly prevented basal and bFGF induced angiogenesis in the CAM angiogenesis assay. Moreover, Frondoside A enhanced the inhibition of lung tumor growth induced by the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. These findings identify Frondoside A as a promising novel therapeutic agent for lung cancer.