Employing a systematic approach to biobanking and analyzing clinical and genetic data for advancing COVID-19 research

Within the GEN-COVID Multicenter Study, biospecimens from more than 1000 SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals have thus far been collected in the GEN-COVID Biobank (GCB). Sample types include whole blood, plasma, serum, leukocytes, and DNA. The GCB links samples to detailed clinical data available in the GEN-COVID Patient Registry (GCPR). It includes hospitalized patients (74.25%), broken down into intubated, treated by CPAP-biPAP, treated with O₂ supplementation, and without respiratory support (9.5%, 18.4%, 31.55% and 14.8, respectively); and non-hospitalized subjects (25.75%), either pauci- or asymptomatic. More than 150 clinical patient-level data fields have been collected and binarized for further statistics according to the organs/systems primarily affected by COVID-19: heart, liver, pancreas, kidney, chemosensors, innate or adaptive immunity, and clotting system. Hierarchical clustering analysis identified five main clinical categories: (1) severe multisystemic failure with either thromboembolic or pancreatic variant; (2) cytokine storm type, either severe with liver involvement or moderate; (3) moderate heart type, either with or without liver damage; (4) moderate multisystemic involvement, either with or without liver damage; (5) mild, either with or without hyposmia. GCB and GCPR are further linked to the GCGDR, which includes data from whole-exome sequencing and high-density SNP genotyping. The data are available for sharing through the Network for Italian Genomes, found within the COVID-19 dedicated section. The study objective is to systematize this comprehensive data collection and begin identifying multi-organ involvement in COVID-19, defining genetic parameters for infection susceptibility within the population, and mapping genetically COVID-19 severity and clinical complexity among patients.Subject terms: Genetics research, Viral infection     

Salmonella serovars identified at the centre for enterobacteriaceae of palermo over the 5-year period 1983-87

Salmonellosis is become an increasing public health problem in many countries. Serotyping and assessment of antibiotic resistance are useful tools, which assist in understanding the epidemiology of Salmonella infections. In this respect, the Centre of Enterobacteriaceae of Southern Italy provides helpful information on the changing pattern of Salmonella serovars in this geographic area.This paper reports the distribution of serovars and their antibiotic susceptibility in the years 1983–1987. In particular, because of their peculiar trends during this 5-year period, epidemiological features of Mbandaka, Corvallis, Dublin, Infantis and Wien serovars are described.     

Inadequacy of combined 5-Fluorouracil, very-high-dose leucovorin, mitomycin-C and Cisplatin as 2nd-line therapy for advanced colon-cancer

Fourteen patients with metastatic colon cancer which had progressed under fluoro-folates chemotherapy were treated with MM-C (10 mg/m(2) on day 1), 5-FU (370 mg/m(2) for 5 consecutive days), l-LV (500 mg/m(2) for 5 consecutive days) and CDDP (70 mg/m(2) on day 4), every 29th day till further disease progression. Neither CR nor PR were observed; 3 patients only had stable disease, while the extant 11 patients progressed. Resulting toxicity was severe. Since no antitumor effects were evidenced in the first 14 patients, the study was discontinued according to commonly accepted criteria.     

Upper GI abscess formation and intramural hemorrhage: sequelae from possible gastric perforation

The definition of an abscess is, "a localized collection of pus caused by suppuration in a tissue, organ or confined space." Pyogenic bacteria that invade the tissue are responsible for this inflammatory response. The following case study demonstrates such a response via an unusual presentation of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.     

Effects of hyaluronan on free-radical formation, corneal endothelium damage, and inflammation parameters after phacoemulsification in rabbits.

Free-radical formation may play a role in postoperative complications of phacoemulsification (e.g., corneal endothelium damage from mechanical injury). The present experiments were aimed at investigating whether different molecular weight ranges (2000-2600, 2600-3200, or 3200-3800 kDa) of hyaluronan may influence free radical formation, corneal endothelium damage, and inflammation parameters after phacoemulsification in the rabbit eye. The viscoelastic substance was injected in the anterior chamber of rabbits' eyes before phacoemulsification, at a 2.5% concentration. The formation of free radicals was determined by adding luminol to the irrigation media and measuring the chemoluminescence in eyes. The corneal endothelial damage was evaluated by measuring the corneal central thickness by pachimetry. The inflammation parameters were measured by calculation in aqueous humor of peak levels of leukocytes and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and evaluation in uveal tissue of myeloperoxidase activity. Hyaluronan decreased by about 58-60% free-radical formation during phacoemulsification, reduced by about 76-80% modifications in mean corneal thickness and by about 54-61% the corneal endothelial cell loss in all molecular weight ranges used. No difference was found among various molecular weight ranges. The highest molecular weight range showed to be more potent than the lowest range for reduced number of inflammation cells and level of PGE(2) in aqueous humor. Thus, hyaluronan reduces free-radical formation, exerts protection on the corneal endothelium and exerts anti-inflammation properties after phacoemulsification in rabbits. The latter effect seems to depend on the molecular weight of the substance.     

Downregulation of inflammatory markers by conjugated linoleic acid isomers in human cultured astrocytes

Objectives: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory activity in the central nervous system. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether modulation of the fatty acid profile by the CLA isomers c9,t11 or t10,c12CLA was associated with changes in the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules in human astrocytes.

Methods: Cultured astrocytes were treated for 6 days with 100?µM fatty acids (c9,t11CLA or t10,c12CLA or oleic acid). Following the treatment, the fatty acid profile of the cell and pro-inflammatory molecule expression were assessed.

Results: Only the t10,c12CLA isomer induced a significant decrease in arachidonic acid and increased the ratio of docosahexaenoic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid, which constitutes indirect evidence of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha activation. Inhibition of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and RANTES expression was observed in astrocytes treated with c9,t11CLA and t10,c12CLA.

Discussion: Current data demonstrate that CLA isomers, particularly t10,c12, may affect neuroinflammation by reducing the pro-inflammatory molecules in cultured astrocytes, suggesting a potential nutritional role of CLA isomers in modulating the astrocyte inflammatory response.