Project description:Background: During gestation, stressors to the fetus, including viral exposure or maternal psychological distress, can fundamentally alter the neonatal epigenome, and may be associated with long-term impaired developmental outcomes. The impact of in utero exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic on the newborn epigenome has yet to be described. Methods: This study aimed to determine whether there are unique epigenetic signatures in newborns who experienced otherwise healthy pregnancies that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (Project RESCUE). The pre-pandemic control and pandemic cohorts (Project RESCUE) included in this study are part of a prospective observational and longitudinal cohort study that evaluates the impact of elevated prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood neurodevelopment. Using buccal swabs collected at birth, differential DNA methylation analysis was performed using the Infinium MethylationEPIC arrays and linear regression analysis. Pathway analysis and gene ontology enrichment were performed on resultant gene lists. Results: Widespread differential methylation was found between neonates exposed in utero to the pandemic and pre-pandemic neonates. In contrast, there were no apparent epigenetic differences associated with maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. Differential methylation was observed among genomic sites that underpin important neurological pathways that have been previously reported in the literature to be differentially methylated because of prenatal stress, such as NR3C1. Conclusions: The present study reveals that the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the epigenomes of newborns born during this time, even in otherwise healthy pregnancies, which should be considered in current and future epigenetic studies and may act as a critical biomarker of stress.
Project description:The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is associated with secondary bacterial and fungal infections globally. In India, inappropriate use of glucocorticoids, high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and a conducive environment for fungal growth are considered as the main factors for increased incidence of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM). Few cases of CAM without steroid abuse and normal blood glucose levels were also reported during the pandemic. This study was designed to explore whether altered immune responses due to severe COVID-19 infection predisposes towards development of mucormycosis. The global transcriptome profiling of monocytes and granulocytic cells derived from CAM, Mucormycosis, COVID-19 and healthy control groups were performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in dysregulated host immune response towards respective diseased and healthy conditions.
Project description:COVID-19 is a pandemic that shares only certain clinical characteristics with other acute viral infections. Here, we studied the whole-blood transcriptomic host response to SARS-CoV-2 and compared it with other viral infections to understand similarities and differences in host response. We profiled peripheral blood from 24 healthy controls and 62 prospectively enrolled patients with community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection by SARS-Cov-2 within the first 24 hours of hospital admission using RNA-seq. We also collected 23 independent studies that profiled 1,855 blood samples from patients with one of six viruses (influenza, RSV, HRV, Ebola, Dengue, and SARS). We identified differentially expressed genes that change in patients with COVID-19 or other viral infections. We show changes in gene expression in peripheral blood from patients with COVID-19 are highly correlated with changes in response to other viral infections (r=0.74, p<0.001). However, two genes, ACO1 and ATL3, show significantly different changes in expression. Pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes in patients with COVID-19 or other viral infections versus healthy controls also identified similar pathways including neutrophil activation, innate immune response, immune response to viral infection, and cytokine production for over-expressed genes, as well as lymphocyte differentiation and T cell activation for under-expressed genes. When comparing transcriptome profiles of patients with COVID-19 directly with those with other viral infections, we found 114 and 302 genes were over- and under-expressed, respectively during COVID-19. Pathways analysis did not identify any significant pathways in these genes. Statistical deconvolution using immunoStates found that M1 macrophages, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, CD14+ monocytes, CD4+ T cells, and total B cells showed changes consistently in the same direction across all viral infections including COVID-19. Those that increased in COVID-19 but decreased in non-COVID were CD56bright NK cells, M2 macrophages, and total NK cells. The concordant and discordant responses mapped out via such a comparison provides a window to explore the underlying biology of why COVID-19 is so different from other viral infections encountered so far. Together, results from pathway and immunoStates analyses help dissect major shifts in cellularity and activation of signaling pathways as part of host response to SARS-CoV-2
Project description:Patients with recent pandemic of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) complains of neurological symptoms unlike typical coronavirus infections. However, the absence of studies utilizing proper models of human peripheral nerve is hampering an understanding of COVID-19 pathogenesis. We, here, employed human embryonic stem cell derived peripheral neurons to validate change in transcriptome in human peripheral neurons. Transcriptome analysis of infected peripheral neurons indicates that chemosensory abnormalities in olfaction and gustation are associated with dysfunction and death of peripheral neurons.
Project description:.RAW files and Compound Discoverer peak lists used for a manuscript regarding changes the chemical fingerprint of sewage sludge during the COVID-19 pandemic
Project description:The on-going COVID-19 pandemic requires a deeper understanding of the long-term antibody responses that persist following SARS-CoV-2 infection. To that end, we determined epitope-specific IgG antibody responses in COVID-19 convalescent sera collected at 5 months post-diagnosis and compared that to sera from naïve individuals. Each serum sample was reacted with a high-density peptide microarray representing the complete proteome of SARS-CoV-2 as 15 mer peptides with 11 amino acid overlap and homologs of spike glycoprotein, nucleoprotein, membrane protein, and envelope small membrane protein from related human coronaviruses. Binding signatures were compared between COVID-19 convalescent patients and naïve individuals using the web service tool EPIphany.
Project description:The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has affected millions of people worldwide and has significant implications for public health. Host transcriptomics profiling provides comprehensive understanding of how the virus interacts with host cells and how the host responds to the virus. COVID-19 disease alters the host transcriptome, affecting cellular pathways and key molecular functions. To contribute to the global effort to understand the virus’s effect on host cell transcriptome, we have generated a dataset from nasopharyngeal swabs of 35 individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 from the Campania region in Italy during the three outbreaks, with different clinical conditions. This dataset will help to elucidate the complex interactions among genes and can be useful in the development of effective therapeutic pathways
Project description:The aim of this study was to assess the gene expression profil of skin chilblain-like lesions that appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare it with seasonal chilblain and healthy skin
Project description:A multicenter Italian retrospective study on COVID-19 pandemic condition and advanced Gastro - Intestinal Cancer.
Are in Italy increased the new diagnosis of GI cancer in advanced stage in the 2020 compared with 2019, as a consequence of COVID-19?