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Molecular Medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) Jun 2024COVID-19 is a new infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2). Since the outbreak in December 2019, it has caused an... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
COVID-19 is a new infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2). Since the outbreak in December 2019, it has caused an unprecedented world pandemic, leading to a global human health crisis. Although SARS CoV-2 mainly affects the lungs, causing interstitial pneumonia and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, a number of patients often have extensive clinical manifestations, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, cardiovascular damage and renal dysfunction.
PURPOSE
This review article discusses the pathogenic mechanisms of cardiovascular damage in COVID-19 patients and provides some useful suggestions for future clinical diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
METHODS
An English-language literature search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science databases up to 12th April, 2024 for the terms "COVID-19", "SARS CoV-2", "cardiovascular damage", "myocardial injury", "myocarditis", "hypertension", "arrhythmia", "heart failure" and "coronary heart disease", especially update articles in 2023 and 2024. Salient medical literatures regarding the cardiovascular damage of COVID-19 were selected, extracted and synthesized.
RESULTS
The most common cardiovascular damage was myocarditis and pericarditis, hypertension, arrhythmia, myocardial injury and heart failure, coronary heart disease, stress cardiomyopathy, ischemic stroke, blood coagulation abnormalities, and dyslipidemia. Two important pathogenic mechanisms of the cardiovascular damage may be direct viral cytotoxicity as well as indirect hyperimmune responses of the body to SARS CoV-2 infection.
CONCLUSIONS
Cardiovascular damage in COVID-19 patients is common and portends a worse prognosis. Although the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiovascular damage related to COVID-19 are not completely clear, two important pathogenic mechanisms of cardiovascular damage may be the direct damage of the SARSCoV-2 infection and the indirect hyperimmune responses.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; Coronavirus Infections; Betacoronavirus; Myocarditis
PubMed: 38898389
DOI: 10.1186/s10020-024-00855-2 -
Nature Reviews. Microbiology Jun 2024Successful approaches for eradication or cure of HIV-1 infection are likely to include immunological mechanisms, but remarkably little is known about how human immune... (Review)
Review
Successful approaches for eradication or cure of HIV-1 infection are likely to include immunological mechanisms, but remarkably little is known about how human immune responses can recognize and interact with the few HIV-1-infected cells that harbour genome-intact viral DNA, persist long term despite antiretroviral therapy and represent the main barrier to a cure. For a long time regarded as being completely shielded from host immune responses due to viral latency, these cells do, on closer examination with single-cell analytic techniques, display discrete footprints of immune selection, implying that human immune responses may be able to effectively engage and target at least some of these cells. The failure to eliminate rebound-competent virally infected cells in the majority of persons likely reflects the evolution of a highly selected pool of reservoir cells that are effectively camouflaged from immune recognition or rely on sophisticated approaches for resisting immune-mediated killing. Understanding the fine-tuned interplay between host immune responses and viral reservoir cells will help to design improved interventions that exploit the immunological vulnerabilities of HIV-1 reservoir cells.
Topics: HIV-1; Humans; HIV Infections; Virus Latency; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
PubMed: 38337034
DOI: 10.1038/s41579-024-01010-8 -
Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science Aug 2023MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that can regulate all steps of gene expression (induction, transcription, and translation). Several virus families, primarily... (Review)
Review
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that can regulate all steps of gene expression (induction, transcription, and translation). Several virus families, primarily double-stranded DNA viruses, encode small RNAs (sRNAs), including miRNAs. These virus-derived miRNAs (v-miRNAs) help the virus evade the host's innate and adaptive immune system and maintain an environment of chronic latent infection. In this review, the functions of the sRNA-mediated virus-host interactions are highlighted, delineating their implication in chronic stress, inflammation, immunopathology, and disease. We provide insights into the latest viral RNA-based research-in silico approaches for functional characterization of v-miRNAs and other RNA types. The latest research can assist toward the identification of therapeutic targets to combat viral infections.
Topics: Humans; MicroRNAs; Viruses; RNA, Viral; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 37159873
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biodatasci-122220-111429 -
Journal of Virology Nov 2023The H6 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV) is a pervasive subtype that is ubiquitously found in both wild bird and poultry populations across the globe. Recent... (Review)
Review
The H6 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV) is a pervasive subtype that is ubiquitously found in both wild bird and poultry populations across the globe. Recent investigations have unveiled its capacity to infect mammals, thereby expanding its host range beyond that of other subtypes and potentially facilitating its global transmission. This heightened breadth also endows H6 AIVs with the potential to serve as a genetic reservoir for the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza strains through genetic reassortment and adaptive mutations. Furthermore, alterations in key amino acid loci within the H6 AIV genome foster the evolution of viral infection mechanisms, which may enable the virus to surmount interspecies barriers and infect mammals, including humans, thus posing a potential threat to human well-being. In this review, we summarize the origins, dissemination patterns, geographical distribution, cross-species transmission dynamics, and genetic attributes of H6 influenza viruses. This study holds implications for the timely detection and surveillance of H6 AIVs.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Birds; Influenza A virus; Influenza in Birds; Mammals; Poultry; Viral Zoonoses; Host Specificity
PubMed: 37877722
DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01370-23 -
Viruses May 2024DNA viruses that produce persistent infections have been proposed as potential causes for the extinction of Neanderthals, and, therefore, the identification of viral...
DNA viruses that produce persistent infections have been proposed as potential causes for the extinction of Neanderthals, and, therefore, the identification of viral genome remnants in Neanderthal sequence reads is an initial step to address this hypothesis. Here, as proof of concept, we searched for viral remnants in sequence reads of Neanderthal genome data by mapping to adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus, which are double-stranded DNA viruses that may establish lifelong latency and can produce persistent infections. The reconstructed ancient viral genomes of adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus revealed conserved segments, with nucleotide identity to extant viral genomes and variable regions in coding regions with substantial divergence to extant close relatives. Sequence reads mapped to extant viral genomes showed deamination patterns of ancient DNA, and these ancient viral genomes showed divergence consistent with the age of these samples (≈50,000 years) and viral evolutionary rates (10 to 10 substitutions/site/year). Analysis of random effects showed that the Neanderthal mapping to genomes of extant persistent viruses is above what is expected by random similarities of short reads. Also, negative control with a nonpersistent DNA virus does not yield statistically significant assemblies. This work demonstrates the feasibility of identifying viral genome remnants in archaeological samples with signal-to-noise assessment.
Topics: Animals; Neanderthals; Genome, Viral; DNA, Ancient; Evolution, Molecular; DNA, Viral; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Humans; Phylogeny; DNA Viruses; Fossils
PubMed: 38932149
DOI: 10.3390/v16060856 -
The Lancet. Infectious Diseases Dec 2023
Topics: Humans; Virology
PubMed: 38006884
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00694-1 -
Emerging Infectious Diseases Jun 2024Viral respiratory illness surveillance has traditionally focused on single pathogens (e.g., influenza) and required fever to identify influenza-like illness (ILI). We... (Review)
Review
Viral respiratory illness surveillance has traditionally focused on single pathogens (e.g., influenza) and required fever to identify influenza-like illness (ILI). We developed an automated system applying both laboratory test and syndrome criteria to electronic health records from 3 practice groups in Massachusetts, USA, to monitor trends in respiratory viral-like illness (RAVIOLI) across multiple pathogens. We identified RAVIOLI syndrome using diagnosis codes associated with respiratory viral testing or positive respiratory viral assays or fever. After retrospectively applying RAVIOLI criteria to electronic health records, we observed annual winter peaks during 2015-2019, predominantly caused by influenza, followed by cyclic peaks corresponding to SARS-CoV-2 surges during 2020-2024, spikes in RSV in mid-2021 and late 2022, and recrudescent influenza in late 2022 and 2023. RAVIOLI rates were higher and fluctuations more pronounced compared with traditional ILI surveillance. RAVIOLI broadens the scope, granularity, sensitivity, and specificity of respiratory viral illness surveillance compared with traditional ILI surveillance.
Topics: Humans; Electronic Health Records; Respiratory Tract Infections; Algorithms; Retrospective Studies; Influenza, Human; COVID-19; Population Surveillance; Massachusetts; Adult; Middle Aged; SARS-CoV-2; Male; Adolescent; Child; Aged; Female; Seasons; Virus Diseases; Child, Preschool; Young Adult
PubMed: 38781684
DOI: 10.3201/eid3006.230473 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of available HIV case reporting and treatment data for in Qatar for the period 2015-2020.
AIM
The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of available HIV case reporting and treatment data for in Qatar for the period 2015-2020.
METHODS
HIV case reporting data were analyzed by sex and mode of transmission. To construct HIV care continuum from the data available, we obtained information on the total number of HIV diagnosed patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2020, number of patients on ART who had an HIV viral load test and the number who were virally suppressed (defined as having the viral load of less than 1,000 copies/mL).
RESULTS
A total of 515 HIV cases were reported to the Ministry of Public Health since beginning of reporting in 1986, and that included Qatari nationals and expatriate residents diagnosed in Qatar. There was an increase in the annual number of newly reported HIV cases from 16 cases in 2015 (of these, 14 were males) to 58 cases in 2020 (of these, 54 were males). The total number of HIV diagnosed people on ART increased from 99 in 2015 to 213 in 2020. During 2020 the overall viral load testing coverage and viral load suppression among those tested for viral load in men were 72.5% and 93.1%, respectively, while in women these values were 60.4% and 84.4%, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Due to increase in newly reported HIV cases, there is a need to develop an effective HIV strategic information system in Qatar and data-driven and targeted national HIV response.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; HIV Infections; Qatar; Anti-Retroviral Agents; Treatment Outcome; Viral Load
PubMed: 38026435
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1234585 -
Virologica Sinica Apr 2024Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks, commonly found in East Asia, can transmit various pathogenic viruses, including the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus...
Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks, commonly found in East Asia, can transmit various pathogenic viruses, including the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) that has caused febrile diseases among humans in Hubei Province. However, understanding of the viromes of H. longicornis was limited, and the prevalence of viruses among H. longicornis ticks in Hubei was not well clarified. This study investigates the viromes of both engorged (fed) and free (unfed) H. longicornis ticks across three mountainous regions in Hubei Province from 2019 to 2020. RNA-sequencing analysis identified viral sequences that were related to 39 reference viruses belonging to unclassified viruses and seven RNA viral families, namely Chuviridae, Nairoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Parvoviridae, Phenuiviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Totiviridae. Viral abundance and diversity in these ticks were analysed, and phylogenetic characteristics of the Henan tick virus (HNTV), Dabieshan tick virus (DBSTV), Okutama tick virus (OKTV), and Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) were elucidated based on their full genomic sequences. Prevalence analysis demonstrated that DBSTV was the most common virus found in individual H. longicornis ticks (12.59%), followed by HNTV (0.35%), whereas JMTV and OKTV were not detected. These results improve our understanding of H. longicornis tick viromes in central China and highlight the role of tick feeding status and geography in shaping the viral community. The findings of new viral strains and their potential impact on public health raise the need to strengthen surveillance efforts for comprehensively assessing their spillover potentials.
Topics: Animals; Phylogeny; Virome; China; Ixodidae; Genome, Viral; RNA Viruses; Ticks; RNA, Viral; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Haemaphysalis longicornis
PubMed: 38360150
DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.02.003 -
IUBMB Life May 2024Diabetes, a chronic metabolic disorder disrupting blood sugar regulation, has emerged as a prominent silent pandemic. Uncontrolled diabetes predisposes an individual to... (Review)
Review
Diabetes, a chronic metabolic disorder disrupting blood sugar regulation, has emerged as a prominent silent pandemic. Uncontrolled diabetes predisposes an individual to develop fatal complications like cardiovascular disorders, kidney damage, and neuropathies and aggravates the severity of treatable infections. Escalating cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes correlate with a global upswing in diabetes-linked mortality. As a growing global concern with limited preventive interventions, diabetes necessitates extensive research to mitigate its healthcare burden and assist ailing patients. An altered immune system exacerbated by chronic hyperinflammation heightens the susceptibility of diabetic individuals to microbial infections, including notable viruses like SARS-CoV-2, dengue, and influenza. Given such a scenario, we scrutinized the literature and compiled molecular pathways and signaling cascades related to immune compartments in diabetics that escalate the severity associated with the above-mentioned viral infections in them as compared to healthy individuals. The pathogenesis of these viral infections that trigger diabetes compromises both innate and adaptive immune functions and pre-existing diabetes also leads to heightened disease severity. Lastly, this review succinctly outlines available treatments for diabetics, which may hold promise as preventive or supportive measures to effectively combat these viral infections in the former.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Virus Diseases; Immunity, Innate; Diabetes Mellitus; Dengue; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Influenza, Human; Adaptive Immunity
PubMed: 38063433
DOI: 10.1002/iub.2794