Comparing reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine boosters: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Different COVID-19 vaccines are being utilized as boosters. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines given as booster doses, according to vaccine type, dose, timing, participant characteristics and primary immunization regimen received. METHODS: Four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and CENTRAL) were searched for randomized controlled trials between 1 January 2020 and 1 January 2023 according to predetermined criteria. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies describing 19 vaccines of four different types (viral vector, inactivated, mRNA and protein sub-unit) were identified. BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) was selected as the control as it was most often compared with other vaccines. Fever, fatigue, headache, injection-site pain, redness, and swelling were the most frequently reported solicited events. mRNA vaccines were the most reactogenic, followed by viral vector vaccines and protein sub-unit vaccines, while inactivated vaccines were the least reactogenic. Full-dose vaccines were more reactogenic than half-dose vaccines. Heterologous BNT162b2 boosters were more reactogenic than boosters with the same vaccine used for primary immunization. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 vaccine booster schedules have distinct reactogenicity profiles, dependent on dose and vaccine type, which may allow targeted recommendations and provide choice for specific populations. Greater standardization of adverse event reporting will aid future studies.

Estrogen receptor genes in gastropods: phylogenetic divergence and gene expression responses to a synthetic estrogen.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have the potential to affect development and reproduction in gastropods. However, one is today lacking basic understanding of the Molluscan endocrine system and one can therefore not fully explain these EDC-induced affects. Furthermore, only a few genes that potentially may be connected to the endocrine system have been sequenced in gastropods. An example is the estrogen receptor gene (er) that have been identified in a restricted number of freshwater and marine gastropods. Here, we have identified a new partial coding sequence of an estrogen receptor gene (er) in the European common heterobranch Radix balthica. The following phylogenetic analysis divided the ers of heterobranchs and ceanogastropods in two branches. Furthermore, exposure to the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) showed that exposure could significantly affect er expression level in the heterobranch R. balthica. This paper is the first that phylogenetically compares gastropods' er, basal er expression profiles, and transcriptional estrogenic responses in gastropods from two different evolutionary groups.

17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) treatment of wild roach (Rutilus rutilus) during early life development disrupts expression of genes directly involved in the feedback cycle of estrogen.

Fish are more sensitive to introduced disturbances from synthetic endocrine disrupting compounds during early life phases compared with mature stages. 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2), which is the active compound in human oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapies, is today ever present in the effluents from sewage treatment plants. EE2 targets and interacts with the endogenous biological systems of exposed vertebrates resulting in to large extents unknown short- and long-term effects. We investigated how EE2 exposure affects expression profiles of a large number of target genes during early life of roach (Rutilus rutilus). We exposed fertilized roach eggs collected from a lake in Southern Sweden to EE2 for 12weeks together with 1+-year-old roach in aquaria. We measured the gene expression of the estrogen receptor (esr)1/2a/2b, androgen receptor (ar), vitellogenin, cytochrome P450 (cyp)19a1a/1b in fertilized eggs; newly hatched larvae; 12-week-old fry; and juvenile wild roach (1+-year-old). Results shows that an EE2 concentration as low as 0.5ng/L significantly affects gene expression during early development. Gene expression responses vary both among life stages and molecular receptors. We also show that the gene profile of the estrogen feedback cycle to a large extent depends on the relationship between the three esr genes and the two cyp19a1 genes, which are all up-regulated with age. Results indicate that a disruption of the natural activity of the dominant esr gene could lead to detrimental biological effects if EE2 exposure occurs during development, even if this exposure occurred for only a short period.

Identification of an estrogen receptor gene in the natural freshwater snail Bithynia tentaculata.

Mollusks have received increasing interest in ecotoxicological studies but so far the available scientific analyses of how their genes are affected by anthropogenic pollutants are scarce. The focus of this study is to identify an estrogen receptor (er) gene in the common prosobranch snail Bithynia tentaculata and to test a hypothesis that 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) will modulate er gene expression after short-term exposure. We set up exposure experiments with a total of 144 snails, which were collected from a natural population in southern Sweden. Snails were exposed to either 10ng/L or 100ng/L EE2 during 24h and/or 72h. From the isolated B. tentaculata RNA we successfully identified and characterized a novel er gene and phylogenetic analyses strongly indicate that the Bithynia er gene is an ortholog to the human ERα (ESR1, NR3A1). We found a significant interaction between EE2-dose and exposure duration on the er's gene expression (Two-way ANOVA; p=0.04). We also found a significant difference in the gene expression of the er when comparing the control and 100ng/L treatment groups after 72h in female snails (One-way ANOVA; p=0.047). The results from this study should be useful for future field-related studies of estrogen receptors in natural populations of mollusks.