Depression and anxiety among College Students in Slovakia - Comparison of the Year 2018 and during COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety among university students during the peak of COVID‑19 pandemic in the Slovak Republic in December 2020. The secondary goal was to compare results with a study from 2018 at the same university.

METHODS

A web-based cross-sectional study was administered at the Comenius University in Bratislava. The final sample consisted of 1,786 participants (approx. 80 % females) with the mean age and standard deviation of M=21.15 and SD=3.53. An online battery of self-report measures of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, and resilience was administered.

RESULTS

The prevalence rates of moderately severe to‑severe depression and anxiety were 34.3 % and 20.1 %, respectively. Depression and anxiety were associated with younger age, higher perception of stress, higher loneliness, and lower resilience. In comparison with 2018, we found a two-fold increase in depression and anxiety. The increase was present across most of the depression and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSION

The result of the study revealed elevated rates of depression and anxiety during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia. Various demographic and psychological factors were associated with more severe depression and anxiety among university students. Some subgroups of students are at the higher risk of mental health problems (Tab. 4, Ref. 26).

Human and mouse PD-L1: similar molecular structure, but different druggability profiles

In the development of PD-L1-blocking therapeutics, it is essential to transfer initial in vitro findings into proper in vivo animal models. Classical immunocompetent mice are attractive due to high accessibility and low experimental costs. However, it is unknown whether inter-species differences in PD-L1 sequence and structure would allow for human-mouse cross applications. Here, we disclose the first structure of the mouse (m) PD-L1 and analyze its similarity to the human (h) PD-L1. We show that mPD-L1 interacts with hPD-1 and provides a negative signal toward activated Jurkat T cells. We also show major differences in druggability between the hPD-L1 and mPD-L1 using therapeutic antibodies, a macrocyclic peptide, and small molecules. Our study indicates that while the amino acid sequence is well conserved between the hPD-L1 and mPD-L1 and overall structures are almost identical, crucial differences determine the interaction with anti-PD-L1 agents, that cannot be easily predicted in silico.

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Mouse (m) PD-L1 interacts with human (h) PD-1 and inhibits human Jurkat T cells

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Small molecule and macrocyclic peptide inhibitors of hPD-L1 do not bind to mPD-L1

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Atezolizumab but not durvalumab binds and blocks mouse PD-L1

Prevalence and correlations of depression and anxiety among Slovak college students

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study was to evaluate prevalence of depression and anxiety among college students studying at Comenius University in Bratislava. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of depression and anxiety on various domains of social functioning.

METHODS

The data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey. The sample consisted of 1,331 students. We administered scales measuring the depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and social functioning as part of a larger survey.

RESULTS

When using a customary cut‑off score for PHQ-9 and GAD-7, a proportion of 35.5 % and 25.5 % of students were above the threshold for depression and anxiety, respectively. When using more stringent criteria, the prevalence rates for depression and anxiety were 16.4 % and 9.3 %, respectively. Both conditions co‑occur in 6.8 % of students. Symptom domains were related to satisfaction with life and social functioning.

CONCLUSION

Depression and anxiety are prevalent among college students. We found that symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders were associated with lower satisfaction with life and lower level of functioning at school as well as in social and family lives. The implications for mental health policies at universities are discussed (Tab. 2, Ref. 27).

Abstract P2-01-05: Comprehensive analysis of genomic alterations in tumor tissue associated with presence of various subpopulations of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in primary breast cancer

Background: CTCs play a major role in tumor dissemination and progression, and represent one of the key components of the metastatic cascade. The aim of this study was to identify signaling pathways associated with presence of CTCs in primary breast cancer (PBC) patients using a comprehensive genomics approach.

Methods: This translational study included 78 patients with PBC. CTCs were detected before surgery by quantitative RT-PCR assay for expression of epithelial (EP; CK19) or epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes (TWIST1, SNAIL1, SLUG, ZEB1). Total DNA and RNA were extracted, in parallel, from fresh frozen primary tumor and the microRNA and mRNA expression profiles were obtained using Human microRNA Microarray v21.0 and SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression v3 (Agilent Technologies). Next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed by Illumina Multiplex Sequencing using MiSeq Sequencing Reagent Kit V3.

Results:Mutations in BRCA1/2 genes in tumor tissue were more common in patients with epithelial CTCs (CTC_EP) compared to patients without epithelial CTCs in peripheral blood (23.5% vs. 0%, p = 0.02), while there were no mutations in specific genes associated with CTC with EMT phenotype (CTC_EMT).Further, we identified 90 genes and 7 miRs that were expressed at significantly different levels in tumors with presence of CTC_EP and 199 genes and 13 miRs specifically associated with CTC_EMT, compared to tumors with non-detectable CTCs. We also identified 39 overlapping genes and 7 miRs, that were expressed at significantly different levels in tumors with CTC_EP and/or CTC_EMT compared to tumors with non-detectable CTCs. Overlapping genes and miRs with highest different levels in expression were ATAD3A, TMEM201, DCPS, DOCK9-AS2, TRAF2 and miR-5195-3p, miR-188-5p, miR-6780a-5p, miR-6757-5p. Signalling pathways associated with these genomic alterations belong to several critically functional groups, such as immune response, signal transduction, cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, or apoptosis were significantly differentially based on CTCs status.

Conclusions: We identified for the first time various genomic alterations in primary tumor tissue of PBC associated with different CTCs subpopulations in peripheral blood. We hypothesize that these genomic alterations could play a role in tumor dissemination and progression and might lead to identification of new therapeutic targets.

Citation Format: Mego M, Tokar T, Minarik G, Hajduk M, Karaba M, Benca J, Sedlackova T, Repiska G, Krasnicanova L, Macuch J, Sieberova G, Pindak D, Cristofanilli M, Reuben JM, Jurisica I, Mardiak J. Comprehensive analysis of genomic alterations in tumor tissue associated with presence of various subpopulations of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in primary breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-01-05.