Application of human liver organoids as a patient-derived primary model for HBV infection and related hepatocellular carcinoma

The molecular events that drive hepatitis B virus (HBV)-mediated transformation and tumorigenesis have remained largely unclear, due to the absence of a relevant primary model system. Here we propose the use of human liver organoids as a platform for modeling HBV infection and related tumorigenesis. We first describe a primary ex vivo HBV-infection model derived from healthy donor liver organoids after challenge with recombinant virus or HBV-infected patient serum. HBV-infected organoids produced covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and HBV early antigen (HBeAg), expressed intracellular HBV RNA and proteins, and produced infectious HBV. This ex vivo HBV-infected primary differentiated hepatocyte organoid platform was amenable to drug screening for both anti-HBV activity and drug-induced toxicity. We also studied HBV replication in transgenically modified organoids; liver organoids exogenously overexpressing the HBV receptor sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) after lentiviral transduction were not more susceptible to HBV, suggesting the necessity for additional host factors for efficient infection. We also generated transgenic organoids harboring integrated HBV, representing a long-term culture system also suitable for viral production and the study of HBV transcription. Finally, we generated HBV-infected patient-derived liver organoids from non-tumor cirrhotic tissue of explants from liver transplant patients. Interestingly, transcriptomic analysis of patient-derived liver organoids indicated the presence of an aberrant early cancer gene signature, which clustered with the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cohort on The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma dataset and away from healthy liver tissue, and may provide invaluable novel biomarkers for the development of HCC and surveillance in HBV-infected patients.

Clinical stage drugs targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins purge episomal Hepatitis B viral genome in preclinical models

A major unmet clinical need is a therapeutic capable of removing hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome from the liver of infected individuals to reduce their risk of developing liver cancer. A strategy to deliver such a therapy could utilize the ability to target and promote apoptosis of infected hepatocytes. Presently there is no clinically relevant strategy that has been shown to effectively remove persistent episomal covalently closed circular HBV DNA (cccDNA) from the nucleus of hepatocytes. We used linearized single genome length HBV DNA of various genotypes to establish a cccDNA-like reservoir in immunocompetent mice and showed that clinical-stage orally administered drugs that antagonize the function of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis proteins can eliminate HBV replication and episomal HBV genome in the liver. Primary human liver organoid models were used to confirm the clinical relevance of these results. This study underscores a clinically tenable strategy for the potential elimination of chronic HBV reservoirs in patients.

The burden of heat-related mortality attributable to recent human-induced climate change

Climate change affects human health; however, there have been no large-scale, systematic efforts to quantify the heat-related human health impacts that have already occurred due to climate change. Here, we use empirical data from 732 locations in 43 countries to estimate the mortality burdens associated with the additional heat exposure that has resulted from recent human-induced warming, during the period 1991-2018. Across all study countries, we find that 37.0% (range 20.5-76.3%) of warm-season heat-related deaths can be attributed to anthropogenic climate change and that increased mortality is evident on every continent. Burdens varied geographically but were of the order of dozens to hundreds of deaths per year in many locations. Our findings support the urgent need for more ambitious mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize the public health impacts of climate change.

Prevalence of portal vein thrombosis detected by computed tomography angiography in dogs

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate dogs with computed tomography angiography of the abdomen for overall prevalence of portal vein thrombosis and prevalence of portal vein thrombosis based on different disease categories. To evaluate dogs with and without portal vein thrombosis for differences in outcome. To compare ultrasound to computed tomographic angiography for identification of portal vein thrombosis.

METHODS

Abdominal computed tomography angiography of 223 client-owned animals was reviewed for evidence of portal vein thrombosis. Based on medical records, dogs were assigned to disease categories: (1) liver disease; (2) non-hepatic neoplasia; (3) pancreatitis; (4) infectious disease; (5) immune-mediated disease; (6) other; (7) multiple diseases. Different categories were compared for the prevalence of portal vein thrombosis. Outcome was evaluated in dogs with and without portal vein thrombosis. Ultrasound reports were reviewed to determine the detection of thrombosis on ultrasound.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight dogs (13%) had portal vein thrombosis. The pancreatitis category contained the highest percentage of portal vein thrombosis among different categories (eight of 19; 42%). There was a similar outcome between dogs with and without portal vein thrombosis. Of 21 dogs with portal vein thrombosis that had ultrasound performed, ultrasound detected thrombosis in four of 21 (19%) cases.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

In this study, portal vein thrombosis prevalence was higher in dogs with pancreatitis compared to dogs with liver disease, non-hepatic neoplasia and other abdominal or systemic disease. The portal system should be carefully evaluated with imaging in dogs with pancreatitis. As compared to ultrasound, CT angiography is the imaging method of choice for detection of portal vein thrombosis in dogs.

3D human liver organoids: An in vitro platform to investigate HBV infection, replication and liver tumorigenesis

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a leading cause of chronic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with an estimated 400 million people infected worldwide. The precise molecular mechanisms underlying HBV replication and tumorigenesis have remained largely uncharacterized due to the lack of a primary cell model to study HBV, a virus that exhibits stringent host species and cell-type specificity. Organoid technology has recently emerged as a powerful tool to investigate human diseases in a primary 3D cell-culture system that maintains the organisation and functionality of the tissue of origin. In this review, we describe the utilisation of human liver organoid platforms to study HBV. We first present the different categories of liver organoids and their demonstrated ability to support the complete HBV replication cycle. We then discuss the potential applications of liver organoids in investigating HBV infection and replication, related tumorigenesis and novel HBV-directed therapies. Liver organoids can be genetically modified, patient-derived, expanded and biobanked, thereby serving as a clinically-relevant, human, primary cell-derived platform to investigate HBV. Finally, we provide insights into the future applications of this powerful technology in the context of HBV-infection and HCC.

A matching-adjusted indirect comparison of combination nivolumab plus ipilimumab with BRAF plus MEK inhibitors for the treatment of BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma☆

Background

Approved first-line treatments for patients with BRAF V600–mutant advanced melanoma include nivolumab (a programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor) plus ipilimumab (a cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 inhibitor; NIVO+IPI) and the BRAF/MEK inhibitors dabrafenib plus trametinib (DAB+TRAM), encorafenib plus binimetinib (ENCO+BINI), and vemurafenib plus cobimetinib (VEM+COBI). Results from prospective randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing these treatments have not yet been reported. This analysis evaluated the relative efficacy and safety of NIVO+IPI versus DAB+TRAM, ENCO+BINI, and VEM+COBI in patients with BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC).

Patients and methods

A systematic literature review identified RCTs for DAB+TRAM, ENCO+BINI, and VEM+COBI in patients with BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma. Individual patient-level data for NIVO+IPI were derived from the phase III CheckMate 067 trial (BRAF-mutant cohort) and restricted to match the inclusion/exclusion criteria of the comparator trials. Treatment effects for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards and time-varying hazard ratio (HR) models. Safety outcomes (grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events) with NIVO+IPI and the comparators were compared.

Results

In the Cox proportional hazards analysis, NIVO+IPI showed improved OS compared with DAB+TRAM (HR = 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.73), ENCO+BINI (HR = 0.60; CI, 0.42-0.85), and VEM+COBI (HR = 0.50; CI, 0.36-0.70) for the overall study period. In the time-varying analysis, NIVO+IPI was associated with significant improvements in OS and PFS compared with the BRAF/MEK inhibitors 12 months after treatment initiation. There were no significant differences between NIVO+IPI and BRAF/MEK inhibitor treatment from 0 to 12 months. Safety outcomes favored DAB+TRAM over NIVO+IPI, whereas NIVO+IPI was comparable to VEM+COBI.

Conclusion

Results of this MAIC demonstrated durable OS and PFS benefits for patients with BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma treated with NIVO+IPI compared with BRAF/MEK inhibitors, with the greatest benefits noted after 12 months.

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First-line treatments for BRAF V600-mutant melanoma include NIVO+IPI and BRAF/MEK inhibitors.

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Results from prospective RCTs comparing NIVO+IPI and BRAF/MEK inhibitors have not yet been reported.

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This MAIC evaluated NIVO+IPI versus BRAF/MEK inhibitors for BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma.

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OS and PFS benefits were noted with NIVO+IPI versus BRAF/MEK inhibitors beginning at 12 months.

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These findings may provide information relevant to the selection of treatments for BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma.

Outcomes of neonatal chylous effusions: A 20-year west-Australian tertiary center experience

Neonatal chylous effusions are rare entity with limited evidence-based management. We conducted a retrospective review of neonates admitted to King Edward Memorial and Princess Margaret/Perth Children's Hospital over 20 years with laboratory-confirmed chylous effusions. A total of 51 infants with chylous effusion were identified. Median gestational age and birth weight were 35.5 weeks and 2620 grams respectively. Congenital [27/ 51] and acquired [24/51] cases were included. Antenatal interventions were performed in 17/22 with antenatal hydrops and 50/51 needed postnatal drains. Effusions were monitored with serial (≥2) chest ultrasounds in 29/51 infants and multiple (≥5) x-rays in 45/51 infants. Median duration of mechanical ventilation, oxygen requirement, and hospital stay was 294.5 hours, 400 hours, and 49 days respectively. 39/51 received medium chain triglyceride (MCT) diet while 8/51 received octreotide. Six infants died during hospital stay. 12/19 had normal developmental assessment at one-year. The acquired group had higher number of xrays done, need for MCT diet and inotropes, and hospital stay vs congenital group. Duration of drains, radiological investigations and immunoglobulin administration were higher in neonates who received octreotide. Syndromic association, duration of ventilation and oxygenation were risk factors for mortality. In our setting, neonatal chylous effusions are associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

Difficulties in developmental follow-up of preterm neonates in a randomised-controlled trial of Bifidobacterium breve M16-V - Experience from Western Australia

BACKGROUND

Probiotics may be neuroprotective for preterm neonates due to their anti-inflammatory effects and ability to facilitate nutrition.

AIM

To assess long-term effects of early probiotic supplementation on neuropsychological development in preterm infants.

STUDY DESIGN

Follow up study.

SUBJECTS

Children at age 3 to 5 years who had participated as preterm infants (<33 week) in the randomised controlled trial.

OUTCOMES

Primary: Continuous early learning composite measure derived from the Mullen's Scale of Early Learning (MSEL). Other outcomes were assessed by the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview, Developmental NEuroPSYchological assessment-2nd Edition, Parental questionnaires using children's communication checklist-2nd edition, social responsiveness scale, and Vineland Adaptive Behavioural Scales-2nd edition.

MEASURES

Continuous scores derived from all the measures.

RESULTS

67 children of the 159 participants (42%) (Probiotic: 36/79, Placebo: 31/80) were followed-up for at least one neuropsychological assessment. All six assessments were completed in 18/31 (58.1%) of the control vs. 11/36 (30.6%) probiotic group children. Multivariable analysis of MSEL composite score showed no evidence of probiotic effect univariately, or after adjustment for gestation, intrauterine growth restriction, Apgar <7 at 5 min and age at assessment (adjusted mean effect in probiotic group: -2.7, 95% CI -8.5-3.0, p = 0.349).

CONCLUSION

There was no significant effect on neurodevelopment of children assessed at the age of 3 to 5 years who participated as preterm neonates in the RCT of B. breve M-16V. The validity of these results is limited by the reduced sample size due to high rate of loss to follow up.

Efficacy of a formalin-inactivated Lactococcus garvieae vaccine in farmed grey mullet (Mugil cephalus)

Lactococcosis [Lactococcus garvieae (LG)] is one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases affecting grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) aquaculture. Therefore, the present research evaluated the efficacy of formalin-killed LG vaccine with an oil-based adjuvant in grey mullet under laboratory and field trials. The laboratory evaluation for LG vaccine and its cross-protection upon challenge in grey mullet found that single-dose immunization of formalin-killed LG with adjuvant resulted in 91.4% and 100% relative per cent survival (RPS) when challenged with homologous and heterologous strains. The levels of specific antibody titre and lysozyme activity increased significantly in the vaccinated group. Immune gene expression at 24 hr after challenge showed an increase in levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. A parallel field trial experiment was conducted to investigate the long-term effectiveness of the LG vaccine. Results demonstrated that at one month and three months post-immunization with heterologous strain, 100% RPS was recorded in the vaccinated group. The findings suggested that the formalin-inactivated LG vaccine strain (S3) protected grey mullet against LG infection for a period of three months.

Cardiometabolic disease, comorbidities and risk of death: findings using data from large-scale electronic health records

Background

Myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and diabetes are separately associated with increased risk of mortality but it is uncertain if their combined effects are proportional, amplified or less than the expected risk of each disease individually. In addition, patients with these conditions tend to also have other long-term comorbidities. How the relationship between cardiometabolic disease and risk of death is modified by the presence of comorbidity is unclear.

Purpose

We investigated the separate and combined effects of MI, stroke and diabetes on all-cause mortality, and examined the impact of comorbidity on these associations.

Methods

We selected a patient cohort of 2,007,731 (51% women) aged ≥16 years at registration with their general practice, using large-scale UK primary care electronic health records that were linked to the national death registry. We identified patients with a recorded diagnosis of MI, stroke, diabetes or none before 2005 (baseline), and classified the patient cohort into mutually exclusive categories of their baseline disease status. For each group, we also extracted information on another major 53 long-term conditions prior to baseline. The cohort was followed until death, deregistration from the practice or censored at the end of study (31 Dec 2014). We used Cox regression, and tested for departure from additivity and multiplicativity to assess interaction.

Results

At baseline, the mean age of the cohort was 51 (SD=18) years and 7% (N=145,910) had a cardiometabolic disease. Over an average follow-up of 7 (SD=3) years, 270,036 died (mean age of death=79 years). After adjusting for baseline age and sex, the hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]), relative to those without cardiometabolic disease, were as follows: diabetes=1.53 (1.51 to 1.55), MI=1.54 (1.51 to 1.56), stroke=1.87 (1.84 to 1.90), diabetes and MI=2.16 (2.09 to 2.23), MI and stroke=2.39 (2.28 to 2.49), diabetes and stroke=2.56 (2.47 to 2.65), and all three=3.17 (2.95 to 3.41). After adjusting for the 53 comorbidities, the HR (95% CI) were attenuated: diabetes=1.37 (1.35 to 1.39), MI=1.25 (1.23 to 1.27), stroke=1.49 (1.46 to 1.52), diabetes and MI=1.60 (1.55 to 1.65), MI and stroke=1.52 (1.45 to 1.59), diabetes and stroke=1.91 (1.84 to 1.98), and all three=1.77 (1.64 to 1.91). The results did not materially changed with adjustment for smoking and deprivation level. Test for interaction revealed some minor synergistic effects when cardiometabolic disease co-occurred but excess risks were lower than expected for two combined vs individual disease effects; no significant interaction was seen for all three vs individual disease effects.

Conclusion

MI, stroke and diabetes are associated with excess mortality, which was partly due to associated chronic conditions. We found no evidence that the co-occurrence of these three conditions contribute to a higher excess mortality than expected from each of them separately.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

Does cardiac transplant protect against broken hearts?

Background

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is a reversible stress-induced myocardial dysfunction with increased sympathetic activity caused by excessive release of catecholamines playing a central role in its pathophysiology. The occurrence of TC in transplanted hearts is rare given the complete denervation done during transplantation. However, it has been demonstrated that 40% of transplant recipients undergo sympathetic re-innervation. There have only been case reports describing TC in post-transplant recipients.

Purpose

To evaluate the incidence, baseline characteristics and outcomes of TC occurring in heart transplant recipients using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) National (nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) in United States from 2009 to 2014.

Methods

Using NIS data, we identified patients who underwent cardiac transplantation using ICD9 procedure codes 37.5 and 33.6. Among these patients, we identified those admitted to the hospital with diagnosis of TC based on ICD-9-CM code 429.83. We presented categorical data as percentages and continuous data as mean or median as appropriate.

Results

We identified 257 hospitalizations for TC in heart transplant recipient patients. There was an approximately 9-fold increase in admissions from 11 in 2009 to 95 in 2014. Among patients with TC, the mean age was 65.3±1.8 years and majority were female (76.6%). A majority of patients were Caucasians (63%) followed by smaller proportion of African-Americans (13.2%).

In-patient mortality in patients admitted with TC following heart transplant was 11.3% (n=29). During the hospitalization, 4.8% of patients had cardiogenic shock and 2.8% required mechanical circulatory support. The average length of stay for patients with TC was 16.6±3.3 days. The mean cost of hospitalization for these patients when adjusted for inflation were 237248±55709 dollars.

Conclusion

TC can still occur in substantially in heart transplant recipients and should be considered one of the differential diagnosis in transplant patients presenting to the hospital.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

An interpretable model for incident heart failure prediction with uncertainty estimation

Background

Forecasting incident heart failure is a critical demand for prevention. Recent research suggested the superior performance of deep learning models on the prediction tasks using electronic health records. However, even with a relatively accurate predictive performance, the major impediments to the wider use of deep learning models for clinical decision making are the difficulties of assigning a level of confidence to model predictions and the interpretability of predictions.

Purpose

We aimed to develop a deep learning framework for more accurate incident heart failure prediction, with provision of measures of uncertainty and interpretability.

Methods

We used a longitudinal linked electronic health records dataset, Clinical Practice Research Datalink, involving 788,880 patients, 8.3% of whom had an incident heart failure diagnosis. To embed the uncertainty estimation mechanism into the deep learning models, we developed a probabilistic framework based on a novel transformer deep learning model: deep Bayesian Gaussian processes (DBGP). We investigated the performance of incident heart failure prediction and uncertainty estimation for the model and validated it using an external held-out dataset. Diagnoses, medications, and age for each encounter were included as predictors. By comparing the uncertainty, we investigated the possibility of identifying the correct predictions from wrong ones to avoid potential misclassification. Using model distillation meant to mimic a well-trained complex model with simple models, we investigated the importance of associations between diagnoses, medications and heart failure with an interpretable linear regression component learned from DBGP.

Results

The DBGP achieved high precision with 0.941 as AUROC for external validation. More importantly, it showed the uncertainty information could distinguish the correct predictions from wrong ones, with significant difference (p-value with 500 samples) between distribution of uncertainties for negative predictions (3.21e-69 between true negative and false negative), and positive predictions (3.39e-22 between true positive and false positive). Utilising the distilled model, we can specify the contribution of each diagnosis and medication to heart failure prediction. For instance, Losartan/Fosinopril, Bisoprolol and Left bundle-branch block showed strong association to heart failure incidence with coefficient 0.11 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.12), 0.09 (0.08, 0.11) and 0.09 (0.07, 0.11) respectively; Peritoneal adhesions, Trochanteric bursitis and Galactorrhea showed strong disassociations with coefficient −0.07 (−0.09, −0.05), −0.07 (−0.09, −0.04) and −0.06 (−0.08, −0.04) individually.

Conclusions

Our novel probabilistic deep learning framework adds a measure of uncertainty the prediction and helps to mitigate misclassification. Model distillation provides an opportunity to interpret deep learning models and offers a data-driven perspective for risk factor analysis.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Oxford Martin School,University of Oxford; NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford

A nationwide 16 year analysis of trends and impact of arrythmias in transplant recipients

Background

Orthotopic heart transplantation is the most effective long-term therapy for end-stage heart disease. Denervation of transplanted heart with the loss of autonomic modulation, vasculopathy, utilization of immunosuppressant drugs, and risk of allograft rejection may result in change in the prevalence of arrhythmias in transplanted hearts.

Purpose

To describe the trends, distribution and the clinical impact of arrhythmias in transplanted hearts in a large nationwide population.

Methods

We queried the National Inpatient Sample with administrative codes. Cardiac transplant patients were identified using procedure ICD-9-CM codes 37.5 and 33.6. Common arrhythmias were extracted using appropriate validated ICD-9-CM codes. Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 9.4 was used for analysis of data.

Results

There was a total of 30,020 hospitalizations of heart transplant recipients between 1999 and 2014 in the United States and 16342 (54.4%) of these had arrhythmias. The prevalence of total arrhythmias increased from 53.6% (n=1,158) in 1999 to 67.3% (n=1,575) in 2014. The most common arrhythmia was atrial fibrillation (26.83%) followed by ventricular tachycardia (22.86%) and the prevalence of individual arrhythmias is as shown in Figure 1.

Cardiogenic shock was higher in transplanted hearts with arrhythmias when compared with patients without arrhythmias (25.96% vs 18.18%; p&lt;0.001). Transplant recipients with arrhythmias were also associated with an increased use of mechanical circulatory device (18.22% vs 12.67%, p&lt;0.001). The use of implantable cardiac defibrillators and permanent pacemaker was also higher in the arrhythmia group (2.19% vs 0.63% and 40.43% vs 30.24% respectively, p&lt;0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in inpatient mortality between transplant recipients with arrhythmias and without arrhythmias (7.72% vs 6.90%, p=0.225). Further, there was no significant difference in frequency of strokes between the groups (4.98% vs 5.08%; p=0.857).

The total hospital cost when adjusted for inflation was significantly higher in the arrhythmic patients, with an average cost of about $570,415±9,590 vs $439,707±8362 in patients without arrhythmias (p&lt;0.0001). The mean length of hospitalization was 44.2±0.8 days in patients with arrhythmias compared to 33.9±0.8 days in patients without arrhythmias (p&lt;0.0001).

Conclusion

A significant proportion of patients with heart transplant have cardiac arrhythmias and are associated with worse in-hospital outcomes of cardiogenic shock, increased length of stay, and cost of hospitalization. However, they are not associated with worse inpatient mortality.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

BEHRT-HF: an interpretable transformer-based, deep learning model for prediction of incident heart failure

Background/Introduction

Predicting incident heart failure has been challenging. Deep learning models when applied to rich electronic health records (EHR) offer some theoretical advantages. However, empirical evidence for their superior performance is limited and they remain commonly uninterpretable, hampering their wider use in medical practice.

Purpose

We developed a deep learning framework for more accurate and yet interpretable prediction of incident heart failure.

Methods

We used longitudinally linked EHR from practices across England, involving 100,071 patients, 13% of whom had been diagnosed with incident heart failure during follow-up. We investigated the predictive performance of a novel transformer deep learning model, “Transformer for Heart Failure” (BEHRT-HF), and validated it using both an external held-out dataset and an internal five-fold cross-validation mechanism using area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) and area under the precision recall curve (AUPRC). Predictor groups included all outpatient and inpatient diagnoses within their temporal context, medications, age, and calendar year for each encounter. By treating diagnoses as anchors, we alternatively removed different modalities (ablation study) to understand the importance of individual modalities to the performance of incident heart failure prediction. Using perturbation-based techniques, we investigated the importance of associations between selected predictors and heart failure to improve model interpretability.

Results

BEHRT-HF achieved high accuracy with AUROC 0.932 and AUPRC 0.695 for external validation, and AUROC 0.933 (95% CI: 0.928, 0.938) and AUPRC 0.700 (95% CI: 0.682, 0.718) for internal validation. Compared to the state-of-the-art recurrent deep learning model, RETAIN-EX, BEHRT-HF outperformed it by 0.079 and 0.030 in terms of AUPRC and AUROC. Ablation study showed that medications were strong predictors, and calendar year was more important than age. Utilising perturbation, we identified and ranked the intensity of associations between diagnoses and heart failure. For instance, the method showed that established risk factors including myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation and flutter, and hypertension all strongly associated with the heart failure prediction. Additionally, when population was stratified into different age groups, incident occurrence of a given disease had generally a higher contribution to heart failure prediction in younger ages than when diagnosed later in life.

Conclusions

Our state-of-the-art deep learning framework outperforms the predictive performance of existing models whilst enabling a data-driven way of exploring the relative contribution of a range of risk factors in the context of other temporal information.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Private grant(s) and/or Sponsorship. Main funding source(s): National Institute for Health Research, Oxford Martin School, Oxford Biomedical Research Centre

A nationwide analysis of 16 year trends in cardiac transplantation for cardiac sarcoidosis

Background

Orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) is indicated for end-stage heart failure due to cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). However, utilization of OHT for CS has been controversial due to concern for involvement of other organs by sarcoidosis affecting long term outcomes.

Purpose

Our objective was to study the trends in OHT in patients with CS in the United States using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) National (nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 1999 to 2014.

Methods

Using NIS data, we identified patients older than 18 years with cardiac sarcoidosis using codes ICD 9-CM codes of 135 and 425.8. Among these patients, we identified those who underwent cardiac transplantation using ICD 9-CM procedure codes 37.5 and 33.6. We presented categorical data as percentages and continuous data as mean or median as appropriate.

Results

A weighted total of 24231 hospitalizations for CS was extracted from 1999 to 2014 of which 248 (1.02%) CS patients underwent OHT. The trends in cardiac transplant for CS is as shown in Figure 1.

The mean age of CS patients undergoing OHT was 51.7±1.1 years and 60.4% (n=150) were males. 114 (45.9%) were Caucasians and 27.8% (n=25) were African-American. 100% of the transplants were performed at medium (n=5) or large sized (n=243) teaching hospitals and 97.9% of cardiac transplants were also done at teaching hospitals. Heart transplants were mostly done in the South (36.3%) followed by Midwest (26.2%), West (25%) and Northeast (12.5%). Private insurance was the major payor source which covered 149 (60.1%) patients followed by Medicare covering 65 (26.2%) patients.

A total of 10 (3.9%) cardiac sarcoidosis patients died during the same hospitalization for cardiac transplantation. Following OHT, 84.2% (n=209) were discharged home and 11.6% (n=29) to short term hospitalization. The mean cost of hospitalization for OHT in CS when adjusted for inflation was 535144±56060 dollars while the average length of stay for heart transplant for CS was 46.2±6.6 days.

Conclusions

Cardiac transplant trends in CS have not changed from 1999 to 2014 despite recent studies showing improved outcomes and are associated with substantial cost of hospitalization and length of stay. Majority of cardiac transplant was done in Caucasians despite cardiac sarcoidosis being more common in African-Americans.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

A nationwide analysis of 16 year trends in cardiac transplantation for acute myocarditis

Background

Orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) is indicated in 1–8% of patients with myocarditis. However, national trends in the utilization of transplantation and outcomes in myocarditis across the United States are not well established.

Purpose

Our objective was to study the trends and baseline characteristic of myocarditis patients undergoing heart transplant in the United States using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) National (nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 1999 to 2014.

Methods

Using NIS data, we identified patients older than 18 years with myocarditis using codes ICD9 codes of 422.0 and 422.9. Among these patients, we identified those who underwent cardiac transplantation using ICD9 procedure codes 37.5 and 33.6. We presented categorical data as percentages and continuous data as mean or median as appropriate.

Results

We identified a total of 62,264 hospitalizations for myocarditis from 1999–2014. 430 (0.69%) myocarditis patients underwent OHT which consisted of 0.82% of all 29990 cardiac transplants identified in the same period. The trends in OHT for myocarditis is as shown in Figure 1.

The mean age was 32.9±2.4 years and 51.1% (n=219) were females. 235 (54.6%) were Caucasians and 60 (13.9%) were Hispanic. Majority of the transplants were performed at medium (16%) and large sized hospitals (80.4%). Cardiac transplants were mainly done at teaching hospitals (98.9%). Further, with regards to the geographical distribution of transplant procedure, most were done in the West (37.2%) followed by South (25.3%), Northeast (21.4%) and Mid-west (16%) of the United States. Private insurance was the major payor source which covered 245 (58%) patients followed by Medicaid covering 112 (26%) patients.

A total of 26 (6%) myocarditis patients died during the same hospitalization for OHT. In terms of discharge following OHT in myocarditis 85.8% (n=369) were discharged home and 8.1% (n=35) to short term hospitalization. The average length of stay for OHT for myocarditis was 64.3±6.3 days. Also, the mean cost of hospitalization for heart transplant in myocarditis when adjusted for inflation was 789,566±93,108 dollars.

In-patient mortality following OHT was not significantly different in large sized hospital compared to small and medium sized hospitals (7.6% vs 5.7%, p=0.54). However, the cost of hospitalization was significantly lesser in small and medium sized hospitals (588,363±154,349 vs 826,864±106,110 dollars, p&lt;0.0001).

Conclusions

Only a small percentage of OHT is done for myocarditis with high proportion done in female when compared to OHT for other etiologies. Further studies need to be done to compare long term outcomes of heart transplant in myocarditis.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Inter-Laboratory Reproducibility of Inducible HIV-1 Reservoir Quantification by TILDA

Substantial efforts to eliminate or reduce latent HIV-1 reservoirs are underway in clinical trials and have created a critical demand for sensitive, accurate, and reproducible tools to evaluate the efficacy of these strategies. Alternative reservoir quantification assays have been developed to circumvent limitations of the quantitative viral outgrowth assay. One such assay is tat/rev induced limiting dilution assay (TILDA), which measures the frequency of CD4+ T cells harboring inducible latent HIV-1 provirus. We modified pre-amplification reagents and conditions (TILDA v2.0) to improve assay execution and first internally validated assay performance using CD4+ T cells obtained from cART-suppressed HIV-1-infected individuals. Detection of tat/rev multiply spliced RNA was not altered by modifying pre-amplification conditions, confirming the robustness of the assay, and supporting the technique’s amenability to limited modifications to ensure better implementation for routine use in clinical studies of latent HIV-1 reservoirs. Furthermore, we cross-validated results of TILDA v2.0 and the original assay performed in two separate laboratories using samples from 15 HIV-1-infected individuals. TILDA and TILDA v2.0 showed a strong correlation (Lin’s Concordance Correlation Coefficient = 0.86). The low inter-laboratory variability between TILDAs performed at different institutes further supports use of TILDA for reservoir quantitation in multi-center interventional HIV-1 Cure trials.

Crop production in the USA is frequently limited by a lack of pollinators

Most of the world's crops depend on pollinators, so declines in both managed and wild bees raise concerns about food security. However, the degree to which insect pollination is actually limiting current crop production is poorly understood, as is the role of wild species (as opposed to managed honeybees) in pollinating crops, particularly in intensive production areas. We established a nationwide study to assess the extent of pollinator limitation in seven crops at 131 locations situated across major crop-producing areas of the USA. We found that five out of seven crops showed evidence of pollinator limitation. Wild bees and honeybees provided comparable amounts of pollination for most crops, even in agriculturally intensive regions. We estimated the nationwide annual production value of wild pollinators to the seven crops we studied at over $1.5 billion; the value of wild bee pollination of all pollinator-dependent crops would be much greater. Our findings show that pollinator declines could translate directly into decreased yields or production for most of the crops studied, and that wild species contribute substantially to pollination of most study crops in major crop-producing regions.

THU0204 A SUBGROUP ANALYSIS OF LOW DISEASE ACTIVITY AND REMISSION FROM PHASE 3 STUDY OF FILGOTINIB IN PATIENTS WITH INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO BIOLOGIC DMARDS

Background:

Despite effective treatments, many patients (pts) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have inadequate responses to biologic DMARDs (bDMARD-IR), highlighting an unmet need. It is unclear whether prior bDMARD use affects efficacy of the oral, selective JAK-1 inhibitor filgotinib (FIL).

Objectives:

To explore clinical response to FIL in bDMARD-IR pts stratified by mode of action (MOA) and number of prior bDMARDs.

Methods:

The global, phase 3 FINCH-2 (NCT02873936) study treated 448 bDMARD-IR pts with active RA.1Pts were randomised 1:1:1 to once-daily FIL 200 mg, FIL 100 mg, or placebo (PBO) for 24 weeks. Efficacy was assessed by percent of pts achieving low disease activity (LDA) or remission at week (W)24 as measured by CDAI and DAS28(CRP) stratified by number and MOA of prior bDMARDs. Comparisons were not adjusted for multiplicity. Nonresponder imputation was used.

Results:

In total, 448 bDMARD-IR pts were included, 105 with prior experience with ≥3 bDMARDs (Table). At W24, pts receiving FIL were in LDA at a higher proportion vs PBO, irrespective of number of prior bDMARDs or MOA (Figure 1). For pts receiving FIL 200 vs PBO, DAS28(CRP) ≤3.2 was achieved at W24 by 52% vs 26%, 51% vs 22%, and 38% vs 9% of pts with 1, 2, or ≥3 prior bDMARDs, respectively, and 49% vs 21% and 50% vs 13% of pts exposed to TNF or IL-6 inhibitors; for all subgroups, rates were significantly higher vs PBO (Figure 1). Delta between FIL 200 mg and PBO was maintained irrespective of number or type of prior bDMARDs. At W24, pts receiving FIL achieved remission at numerically higher rates vs PBO (Figure 2). For pts receiving FIL 200 mg vs PBO, DAS28(CRP) <2.6 was achieved at W24 by 36% vs 14%, 30% vs 14%, and 22% vs 6% of pts with 1, 2, and ≥3 prior bDMARDs, respectively, and 31% vs 14% and 29% vs 9% of pts exposed to TNF or IL-6 inhibitors (Figure 2). Delta between FIL 200 mg and PBO was maintained irrespective of number or type of prior bDMARDs. Treatment-emergent adverse events across subgroups were consistent with overall study population.

Table.

Number and MOA of prior bDMARDs

FIL 200 mgn = 147FIL 100 mgn = 153PBOn = 148TotalN = 448Prior bDMARDs 173 (49.7)86 (56.2)77 (52.0)236 (52.7) 237 (25.2)33 (21.6)36 (24.3)106 (23.7) ≥337 (25.2)34 (22.2)34 (23.0)105 (23.4)LOE ≥1 bDMARD125 (85.0)129 (84.3)126 (85.1)380 (84.8)Intolerance ≥1 bDMARD36 (24.5)34 (22.2)32 (21.6)102 (22.8)Prior TNFi121 (82.3)134 (87.6)124 (83.8)379 (84.6) LOE ≥1 TNFi97 (66.0)113 (73.9)103 (69.6)313 (69.9) Intolerance ≥1 TNFi25 (17.0)24 (15.7)24 (16.2)73 (16.3)Prior non-TNFi73 (49.7)62 (40.5)75 (50.7)210 (46.9) LOE ≥1 non-TNFi52 (35.4)43 (28.1)56 (37.8)151 (33.7) Intolerance ≥1 non-TNFi13 (8.8)13 (8.5)11 (7.4)37 (8.3)Prior IL-6i34 (23.1)35 (22.9)32 (21.6)101 (22.5) LOE ≥1 IL-6i25 (17.0)22 (14.4)21 (14.2)68 (15.2) Intolerance ≥1 IL-6i5 (3.4)10 (6.5)5 (3.4)20 (4.5)

Data presented as n (%).

i, inhibitor; LOE, lack of efficacy.

Conclusion:

Treatment with FIL vs PBO led to higher rates of LDA and remission in pts with IR to IL-6 or TNF inhibition, or to 1, 2, or ≥3 prior bDMARDs, with a similar safety profile to the overall study population. A significantly higher proportion of pts overall receiving FIL 200 mg vs PBO were in LDA at W24. Improved efficacy of FIL vs PBO in pts who previously failed multiple bDMARDs indicates distinct benefits of selective JAK-1 inhibition with FIL.

References:

[1]Genovese, et al.JAMA2019;322(4):315–25.

Disclosure of Interests: :

Jacques-Eric Gottenberg Grant/research support from: BMS, Pfizer, Consultant of: BMS, Sanofi-Genzyme, UCB, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Co., Roche, Sanofi-Genzyme, UCB, Maya H Buch Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, Consultant of: Pfizer; AbbVie; Eli Lilly; Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Merck-Serono; Sandoz; and Sanofi, Roberto Caporali Consultant of: AbbVie; Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Lilly; Merck Sharp & Dohme; Celgene; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Pfizer; UCB, Speakers bureau: Abbvie; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Celgene; Lilly; Gilead Sciences, Inc; MSD; Pfizer; Roche; UCB, Grace C. Wright Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Exagen, Eli Lilly, Myriad Autoimmune, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sanofi Genzyme, UCB, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Exagen, Eli Lilly, Myriad Autoimmune, Novartis, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sanofi Genzyme, UCB, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd., Kenneth Kalunian Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Lupus Research Alliance, Sanford Consortium, Consultant of: Genentech, Nektar, BMS, Janssen, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Vielabio, Equillium, Eli Lilly, ILTOO, Abbvie, Amgen, Roche, Gilead, Alena Pechonkina Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Ying Guo Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Shangbang Rao Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences Inc., YingMeei Tan Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences, Inc., Robin Besuyen Shareholder of: Galapagos, Employee of: Galapagos, Mark C. Genovese Grant/research support from: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Merck Serono, Galapagos, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GSK, Novartis, Pfizer Inc., RPharm, Sanofi Genzyme, Consultant of: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Merck Serono, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GSK, Novartis, RPharm, Sanofi Genzyme

FRI0139 FILGOTINIB PROVIDED RAPID AND SUSTAINED RELIEF OF PAIN AND FATIGUE AND IMPROVED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO BIOLOGIC DMARDS: RESULTS FROM THE FINCH 2 STUDY

Background:

EULAR guidelines recommend a treat-to-target approach focusing on reducing inflammation to prevent joint damage, physical disability, and mortality.1However, patients consider reduction in pain and fatigue, along with maintenance of physical function, and improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) important areas for improvement with RA treatment.2In the FINCH 2 study, filgotinib (FIL)—a potent, selective, oral small molecule Janus kinase 1 inhibitor—in combination with conventional synthetic (cs)DMARD therapy significantly improved the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with an inadequate response to a biologic (b)DMARD compared with placebo (PBO).3In addition, patients experienced significant improvements in HAQ-DI at week (W)12 and W24 with FIL 100 mg (p <0.001, p = 0.003) or 200 mg (p <0.001 for both) compared with PBO.3

Objectives:

To evaluate the rate and magnitude of change in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from FINCH 2 assessing pain, HRQoL, and fatigue.

Methods:

Patients in this double-blind, randomised study (NCT02873936) received FIL 200 mg, FIL 100 mg, or PBO while continuing csDMARD therapy. PROs were collected prospectively on day 1 and at the W2, W4, W8, W12, W14, W16, W20, and W24 visits for assessment of pain (VAS pain scale) and on day 1 and at W4, W12, and W24 for assessment of fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) and HRQoL (SF-36). Changes from baseline for each PRO at each time point up to W24 were analysed longitudinally using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures. P values for the difference between each FIL arm and PBO at each time point were calculated.

Results:

Among the 448 patients randomised and treated (FIL 200 mg, n = 147; FIL 100 mg, n = 153; PBO, n = 148) 381 (85.0%) completed the study. Baseline mean (SD) VAS pain scale was 67 (21.0), SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) was 31.1 (7.89), SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) was 44.3 (11.6), and FACIT-Fatigue score was 24.4 (11.6); baseline values did not vary between treatment groups. Significantly greater improvements in VAS pain scores began at W2 and were maintained through W24 for patients who received either dose of FIL vs PBO (Fig 1A). FIL also significantly improved patients’ fatigue at W4, W12, and W24 compared with PBO for those receiving 200 mg doses, and at W4 and W12 for those receiving 100 mg doses (Fig 1B). HRQoL related to physical functioning (SF-36 PCS) was significantly enhanced at W4, W12, and W24 with both doses of FIL as compared with PBO (Fig 2A). Improvements to mental-health-related QoL (SF-36 MCS) were reported for FIL as early as W4 and maintained through W24, with statistically significant improvements at W4 and W12 for FIL 200 mg vs PBO (Fig 2B).

Conclusion:

In a patient population with refractory disease that had inadequate response to prior bDMARDs and had significant disease at baseline, FIL treatment—coadministered with csDMARD therapy—was able to provide rapid and sustained improvements in key measures of pain, HRQoL, and fatigue as reported by patients.

References:

[1]Smolen, et al.Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;76:960–77.

[2]Fautrel, et al.Rheumatol Int.2018;38:935–47.

[3]Genovese, et al.JAMA. 2019;322(4):315–25.

Disclosure of Interests:

David Walker Grant/research support from: Gilead, Consultant of: Gilead, Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, Speakers bureau: Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Asahikasei Pharma Corp., Astellas Pharma, Inc., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Nipponkayaku Co. Ltd., Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., UCB Japan, Consultant of: Astellas Pharma, Inc., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan,, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan, Gilead Sciences, Inc., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd, Beatrix Bartok Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Shangbang Rao Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences Inc., I-Heng Lee Shareholder of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Employee of: Gilead Sciences Inc., Robin Besuyen Shareholder of: Galapagos, Employee of: Galapagos, Jacques-Eric Gottenberg Grant/research support from: BMS, Pfizer, Consultant of: BMS, Sanofi-Genzyme, UCB, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Co., Roche, Sanofi-Genzyme, UCB, Mark C. Genovese Grant/research support from: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Merck Serono, Galapagos, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GSK, Novartis, Pfizer Inc., RPharm, Sanofi Genzyme, Consultant of: Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Merck Serono, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GSK, Novartis, RPharm, Sanofi Genzyme

0057 Actigraphy-Based Circadian Measures and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Introduction

Although recent data implicates sleep and circadian disruption to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the association of objective circadian biomarkers and neurodegeneration remains understudied. We hypothesize that actigraphy-based circadian measures are associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of neurodegeneration in those mild cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI-AD).

Methods

Eighteen patients with CSF biomarker-confirmed MCI-AD underwent actigraphy monitoring generating the following circadian measures: amplitude, F-ratio and mesor and morning collection of CSF biomarkers of neurodegeneration (Aβ42,t-tau,p-tau). Linear models were used to evaluate the association of circadian and CSF measures; logarithmic transformations were performed on neurodegenerative markers for greater normality. Analysis was performed using SAS software. A significance level of 0.05 was assumed for all tests.

Results

Eighteen MCI-AD patients who were 68± 6.2 years, 44% female, with median AHI=12 and underwent actigraphy monitoring for 8.2+/-3.2 days were included. There was no significant association of circadian measures and Aβ42 nor with mesor and neurodegeneration biomarkers. Amplitude was associated with both p-tau and t-tau, such that each 10 unit increase in amplitude resulted in a predicted increase in p-tau of 8% (95% CI:1%-15%, p=0.018) and an increase of 13% (3%-23%; p=0.01) in t-tau. F-ratio was positively associated with p-tau and t-tau; each 1000 unit increase in F-ratio resulted in a predicted 12% (4%-22%; p=0.007) increase in P-tau and 20%(6%-35%; p=0.005) increase in t-tau. Associations of these circadian measures and CSF levels of p-tau and t-tau remained statistically significant after adjustment for age and sex.

Conclusion

Among patients with symptomatic MCI stages of AD, objective measures of circadian rhythm disruption are associated with CSF-based biomarkers of neurodegeneration even after consideration of age and sex. Future investigation should clarify directionality of this association and potential utility of circadian-based interventions in the mitigation of AD progression.

Support

N/A

Pan-retroviral Nucleocapsid-Mediated Phase Separation Regulates Genomic RNA Positioning and Trafficking

The duality of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of cellular components into membraneless organelles defines the nucleation of both normal and disease processes including stress granule (SG) assembly. From mounting evidence of LLPS utility by viruses, we discover that HIV-1 nucleocapsid (NC) protein condenses into zinc-finger (ZnF)-dependent LLPSs that are dynamically influenced by cytosolic factors. ZnF-dependent and Zinc (Zn²⁺)-chelation-sensitive NC-LLPS are formed in live cells. NC-Zn²⁺ ejection reverses the HIV-1 blockade on SG assembly, inhibits NC-SG assembly, disrupts NC/Gag-genomic RNA (vRNA) ribonucleoprotein complexes, and causes nuclear sequestration of NC and the vRNA, inhibiting Gag expression and virus release. NC ZnF mutagenesis eliminates the HIV-1 blockade of SG assembly and repositions vRNA to SGs. We find that NC-mediated, Zn²⁺-coordinated phase separation is conserved among diverse retrovirus subfamilies, illustrating that this exquisitely evolved Zn²⁺-dependent feature of virus replication represents a critical target for pan-antiretroviral therapies.

Monette et al. discover a high degree of conservation of zinc-finger embedded, intrinsically disordered prion-like domains across retrovirus Gag proteins. These domains within the Gag Nucleocapsid regulate the formation of zinc-dependent liquid-liquid phase condensates and stress granules in HIV-1-expressing cells to induce repositioning of the viral genomic RNA.

Neonatal outcomes following previable prelabour rupture of membranes before 23 weeks of gestation - A retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To compare outcomes of hospitalized preterm infants following previable prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) at≤23 weeks of gestation.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of preterm infants admitted for intensive care, between January 2006 and December 2016 following PPROM, was conducted. Short term clinical outcomes included severity of respiratory morbidity, length of hospital stay and mortality. Neurodevelopment in survivors was assessed using Bayley's Scales of Infant Development (3rd edition) at 24 months corrected age.

RESULTS

A total of 82 preterm infants were admitted following PPROM at < 23 weeks and were grouped as: Group 1 (n = 28) with PPROM < 20 weeks and Group 2 (n = 54) with PPROM between 20-22 + 6 weeks. Median latency following PPROM was significantly longer in Group 1 infants [69(Interquartile range (IQR): 43-74; Range (R): 25-100 vs. 29(IQR: 10-53; R: 2-72) days, p < 0.001]. Median gestation at delivery was 27.4 weeks (Group 1) vs. 25.1 weeks (Group 2). Group 1 had a significantly higher incidence of oligohydramnios [13(46.4%) vs. 8(14.8%), p = 0.002], lower Apgar scores (<7) at 5 minutes [19(67.9%) vs. 24(44.4%), p = 0.044], increased pulmonary hypoplasia [13(46.4%) vs. 5(9.3%), p < 0.001], joint contractures [3(10.7%) vs. 0, p = 0.037] and mortality [10(35.7%) vs. 7(13.0%), p = 0.016]. Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 24 months corrected age were comparable in the 36 surviving infants (9/18 vs. 27/547).

CONCLUSION

Morbidity and mortality is high in infants born after previable PPROM; specifically, in those with PPROM < 20 weeks although early childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes were comparable. Larger prospective studies focussing on long term neonatal outcomes are needed to confirm these findings.