Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has driven an unprecedented level of global activity in drug discovery and clinical development for effective therapeutics targeting the coronavirus disease. There are currently 744 therapeutics being tested in 2879 clinical trials globally. Almost 90% of these clinical trials are focused on monotherapies. Combination therapies are the mainstay of antiviral therapeutics to increase the potency of the individual compounds and to combat the rapid evolution of resistance, although combination therapies have inherently complex clinical and regulatory development challenges. Increased understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle and COVID-19 pathology provides a scientific rationale for evaluating the effectiveness of different combinations. In this paper, we provide an overview of the current clinical trial landscape for combination therapeutics targeting COVID-19 through weekly scanning of national and international clinical trial registries. Our analysis delves specifically into dual combination therapies in what can be defined as "pivotal clinical trials" (active, randomised, controlled and at least phase II), with a focus on new and repurposed therapeutic candidates that have shown positive signals and/or been granted authorisation for emergency use based on positive efficacy and safety data.
Project description:System-wide molecular characteristics of COVID-19, especially in those patients without comorbidities, have not been fully investigated. We compared extensive molecular profiles of blood samples from 231 COVID-19 patients, ranging from asymptomatic to critically ill, importantly excluding those with any comorbidities. Amongst the major findings, asymptomatic patients were characterized by highly activated anti-virus interferon, T/natural killer (NK) cell activation, and transcriptional upregulation of inflammatory cytokine mRNAs. However, given very abundant RNA binding proteins (RBPs), these cytokine mRNAs could be effectively destabilized hence preserving normal cytokine levels. In contrast, in critically ill patients, cytokine storm due to RBPs inhibition and tryptophan metabolites accumulation contributed to T/NK cell dysfunction. A machine-learning model was constructed which accurately stratified the COVID-19 severities based on their multi-omics features. Overall, our analysis provides insights into COVID-19 pathogenesis and identifies targets for intervening in treatment.
Project description:Although severe COVID-19 is often associated with elevated autoantibody titers, the underlying mechanism has been unclear. Here, we investigated repertoires and reactivities of immunoglobulins derived from blood plasmablasts (PBs) in COVID-19 patients. This uncovered robust clonal expansion of PBs secreting cardiolipin (CL)-reactive autoantibodies in humoral response to SARS-CoV-2. About half of the expanded CL-reactive clones were also reactive to SARS-CoV-2 antigens and derived from SARS-CoV-2-specific primary responses as well as seasonal coronavirus-reactive memory responses. One such clone, CoV1804, was reactive to both CL and viral nucleocapsid (N), and exhibited anti-nucleolar activity in human cells. Repertoire analysis identified antibodies sharing genetic features with CoV1804 in COVID-19 patient-derived immunoglobulins from our and other cohorts, thereby constituting a novel public antibody. These public autoantibodies had numerous mutations that enhanced anti-N reactivity. On the other hand, anti-CL reactivity fluctuated through somatic hypermutation, which instead resulted in the acquisition of additional self-reactivities, including anti-nucleolar activity in the progeny. Thus, potentially CL-reactive precursors may have developed multiple reactivities to different self-antigens through clonal expansion driven by viral antigens. Our results unraveled a unique process of autoantibody production during COVID-19 and provide novel insights into the origin of virus-induced autoantibodies.
Project description:BackgroundClinical trials, conducted efficiently and with the utmost integrity, are a key component in identifying effective vaccines, therapies, and other interventions urgently needed to solve the COVID-19 crisis. Yet launching and implementing trials with the rigor necessary to produce convincing results is a complicated and time-consuming process. Balancing rigor and efficiency involves relying on designs that employ flexible features to respond to a fast-changing landscape, measuring valid endpoints that result in translational actions and disseminating findings in a timely manner. We describe the challenges involved in creating infrastructure with potential utility for shared learning.MethodsWe have established a shared infrastructure that borrows strength across multiple trials. The infrastructure includes an endpoint registry to aid in selecting appropriate endpoints, a registry to facilitate establishing a Data & Safety Monitoring Board, common data collection instruments, a COVID-19 dedicated design and analysis team, and a pragmatic platform protocol, among other elements.ResultsThe authors have relied on the shared infrastructure for six clinical trials for which they serve as the Data Coordinating Center and have a design and analysis team comprising 15 members who are dedicated to COVID-19. The authors established a pragmatic platform to simultaneously investigate multiple treatments for the outpatient with adaptive features to add or drop treatment arms.ConclusionThe shared infrastructure provides appealing opportunities to evaluate disease in a more robust manner with fewer resources and is especially valued during a pandemic where efficiency in time and resources is crucial. The most important element of the shared infrastructure is the pragmatic platform. While it may be the most challenging of the elements to establish, it may provide the greatest benefit to both patients and researchers.
Project description:Immune characteristics associated with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) severity are currently unclear. We characterized bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) immune cells from patients with varying severity of COVID-19 disease and from healthy subjects using single-cell RNA-sequencing. Proinflammatory monocyte-derived macrophages were abundant in the BALF from severe COVID-9 patients. Moderate cases were characterized by the presence of highly clonally expanded tissue-resident CD8+ T cells. This atlas of the bronchoalveolar immune-microenvironment suggests potential mechanisms underlying pathogenesis and recovery in COVID-19.