A meta-analysis of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients

Changes in chemokine and growth factor levels may be useful biomarkers for monitoring disease severity in COVID-19 patients; a pilot study

Aim

The aim of the present study was to assess differences in the serum levels of chemokines and growth factors (GFs) between COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. The diagnostic utility of the analyzed proteins for monitoring the severity of the SARS-CoV- 2 infection based on the patients' MEWS scores was also assessed.

Materials and methods

The serum levels of chemokines and growth factors were analyzed in hospitalized COVID-19 patients (50 women, 50 men) with the use of the Bio-Plex Pro™ Human Cytokine Screening Panel (Biorad) and the Bio-Plex Multiplex system.

Results

The study demonstrated that serum levels of MIP-1α, RANTES, Eotaxin, CTACK, GRO-α, IP-10, MIG, basic-FGF, HGF, SCGF-β, G-CSF, M-CSF, SCF, MIF, LIF, and TRAIL were significant higher in COVID-19 patients than in the control group. The concentrations of CTACK, GRO-α, IP-10, MIG, basic-FGF, HGF, PDGF- BB, GM-CSF, SCF, LIF, and TRAIL were higher in asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients (stage 1) and COVID-19 patients with pneumonia without respiratory failure (stage 2). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that IP-10, MIF, MIG, and basic-FGF differentiated patients with COVID-19 from healthy controls with the highest sensitivity and specificity, whereas GM-CSF, basic-FGF, and MIG differentiated asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients (stage 1) from COVID-19 patients with pneumonia without respiratory failure (stage 2) with the highest sensitivity and specificity.

Conclusions

MIG, basic-FGF, and GM-CSF can be useful biomarkers for monitoring disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

Biased, wrong and counterfeited evidences published during the COVID-19 pandemic, a systematic review of retracted COVID-19 papers

In 2020 COVID-19 led to an unprecedented stream of papers being submitted to journals. Scientists and physicians all around the globe were in need for information about this new disease. In this climate, many articles were accepted after extremely fast peer-reviews to provide the scientific community with the latest discoveries and knowledge. Unfortunately, this also led to articles retraction due to authors' misconduct or errors in methodology and/or conclusions. The aim of this study is to investigate the number and characteristics of retracted papers, and to explore the main causes that led to retraction. We conducted a systematic review on retracted articles, using PubMed as data source. Our inclusion criteria were the following: English-language retracted articles that reported original data, results, opinions or hypotheses on COVID-19 and Sars-CoV-2. Twenty-seven retracted articles were identified, mainly reporting observational studies and opinion pieces. Many articles published during the first year of the pandemic have been retracted, mainly due to the authors' scientific misconduct. Duplications, plagiarism, frauds and absence of consent, were the main reasons for retractions. In modern medicine, researchers are required to publish frequently, and, especially during situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, when articles were rapidly published, gaps in peer-reviews system and in the path to scientific publication arose.

Potential therapeutic options for COVID-19: an update on current evidence

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, is the agent responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and is a major public health concern nowadays. The rapid and global spread of this coronavirus leads to an increase in hospitalizations and thousands of deaths in many countries. To date, great efforts have been made worldwide for the efficient management of this crisis, but there is still no effective and specific treatment for COVID-19. The primary therapies to treat the disease are antivirals, anti-inflammatories and respiratory therapy. In addition, antibody therapies currently have been a many active and essential part of SARS-CoV-2 infection treatment. Ongoing trials are proposed different therapeutic options including various drugs, convalescent plasma therapy, monoclonal antibodies, immunoglobulin therapy, and cell therapy. The present study summarized current evidence of these therapeutic approaches to assess their efficacy and safety for COVID-19 treatment. We tried to provide comprehensive information about the available potential therapeutic approaches against COVID-19 to support researchers and physicians in any current and future progress in treating COVID-19 patients.