Complex Immunometabolic Profiling Reveals the Activation of Cellular Immunity and Biliary Lesions in Patients with Severe COVID-19

Lack of racial and ethnic disparities in mortality in minority patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a mid-Atlantic healthcare system

INTRODUCTION

In the USA, minoritised communities (racial and ethnic) have suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 compared with non-Hispanic white communities. In a large cohort of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 in a healthcare system spanning five adult hospitals, we analysed outcomes of patients based on race and ethnicity.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort analysis of patients 18 years or older admitted to five hospitals in the mid-Atlantic area between 4 March 2020 and 27 May 2022 with confirmed COVID-19. Participants were divided into four groups based on their race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, Latinx and other. Propensity score weighted generalised linear models were used to assess the association between race/ethnicity and the primary outcome of in-hospital mortality.

RESULTS

Of the 9651 participants in the cohort, more than half were aged 18-64 years old (56%) and 51% of the cohort were females. Non-Hispanic white patients had higher mortality (p<0.001) and longer hospital length-of-stay (p<0.001) than Latinx and non-Hispanic black patients.

DISCUSSION

In this large multihospital cohort of patients admitted with COVID-19, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic patients did not have worse outcomes than white patients. Such findings likely reflect how the complex range of factors that resulted in a life-threatening and disproportionate impact of incidence on certain vulnerable populations by COVID-19 in the community was offset through admission at well-resourced hospitals and healthcare systems. However, there continues to remain a need for efforts to address the significant pre-existing race and ethnicity inequities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic to be better prepared for future public health emergencies.

A bibliometric analysis of m6A methylation in viral infection from 2000 to 2022

BACKGROUND

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation has become an active research area in viral infection, while little bibliometric analysis has been performed. In this study, we aim to visualize hotspots and trends using bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive and objective overview of the current research dynamics in this field.

METHODS

The data related to m6A methylation in viral infection were obtained through the Web of Science Core Collection form 2000 to 2022. To reduce bias, the literature search was conducted on December 1, 2022. Bibliometric and visual analyzes were performed using CiteSpace and Bibliometrix package. After screening, 319 qualified records were retrieved.

RESULTS

These publications mainly came from 28 countries led by China and the United States (the US), with the US ranking highest in terms of total link strength.The most common keywords were m6A, COVID-19, epitranscriptomics, METTL3, hepatitis B virus, innate immunity and human immunodeficiency virus 1. The thematic map showed that METTL3, plant viruses, cancer progression and type I interferon (IFN-I) reflected a good development trend and might become a research hotspot in the future, while post-transcriptional modification, as an emerging or declining theme, might not develop well.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, m6A methylation in viral infection is an increasingly important topic in articles. METTL3, plant viruses, cancer progression and IFN-I may still be research hotspots and trends in the future.

Applications of human organoids in the personalized treatment for digestive diseases

Digestive system diseases arise primarily through the interplay of genetic and environmental influences; there is an urgent need in elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of these diseases and deploy personalized treatments. Traditional and long-established model systems rarely reproduce either tissue complexity or human physiology faithfully; these shortcomings underscore the need for better models. Organoids represent a promising research model, helping us gain a more profound understanding of the digestive organs; this model can also be used to provide patients with precise and individualized treatment and to build rapid in vitro test models for drug screening or gene/cell therapy, linking basic research with clinical treatment. Over the past few decades, the use of organoids has led to an advanced understanding of the composition of each digestive organ and has facilitated disease modeling, chemotherapy dose prediction, CRISPR-Cas9 genetic intervention, high-throughput drug screening, and identification of SARS-CoV-2 targets, pathogenic infection. However, the existing organoids of the digestive system mainly include the epithelial system. In order to reveal the pathogenic mechanism of digestive diseases, it is necessary to establish a completer and more physiological organoid model. Combining organoids and advanced techniques to test individualized treatments of different formulations is a promising approach that requires further exploration. This review highlights the advancements in the field of organoid technology from the perspectives of disease modeling and personalized therapy.