The relationship between autophagy and respiratory viruses.

Respiratory viruses have caused severe global health problems and posed essential challenges to the medical community. In recent years, the role of autophagy as a critical process in cells in viral respiratory diseases has been noticed. One of the vital catabolic biological processes in the body is autophagy. Autophagy contributes to energy recovery by targeting and selectively directing foreign microorganisms, organelles, and senescent intracellular proteins to the lysosome for degradation and phagocytosis. Activation or suppression of autophagy is often initiated when foreign pathogenic organisms such as viruses infect cells. Because of its antiviral properties, several viruses may escape or resist this process by encoding viral proteins. Viruses can also use autophagy to enhance their replication or prolong the persistence of latent infections. Here, we provide an overview of autophagy and respiratory viruses such as coronavirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza, influenza, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus, and examine the interactions between them and the role of autophagy in the virus-host interaction process and the resulting virus replication strategy.

Identifying Potential New Gene Expression-Based Biomarkers in the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Hepatitis B-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: The analysis of the gene expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is important to clarify the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the detection of suitable biomarkers. The purpose of this investigation was to use RNA-sequencing to screen the appropriate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the PBMCs for the HCC. Methods: The comprehensive transcriptome of extracted RNA of PBMC (n = 20) from patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis, and early stage of HCC (5 samples per group) was carried out using RNA-sequencing. All raw RNA-sequencing data analyses were performed using conventional RNA-sequencing analysis tools. Next, gene ontology (GO) analyses were carried out to elucidate the biological processes of DEGs. Finally, relative transcript abundance of selected DEGs was verified using qRT-PCR on additional validation groups. Results: Specifically, 13, 1262, and 1450 DEGs were identified for CHB, liver cirrhosis, and HCC, when compared with the healthy controls. GO enrichment analysis indicated that HCC is closely related to the immune response. Seven DEGs (TYMP, TYROBP, CD14, TGFBI, LILRA2, GNLY, and GZMB) were common to HCC, cirrhosis, and CHB when compared to healthy controls. The data revealed that the expressions of these 7 DEGs were consistent with those from the RNA-sequencing results. Also, the expressions of 7 representative genes that had higher sensitivity were obtained by receiver operating characteristic analysis, which indicated their important diagnostic accuracy for HBV-HCC. Conclusion: This study provides us with new horizons into the biological process and potential prospective clinical diagnosis and prognosis of HCC in the near future.

A review of COVID-19 vaccines and major considerations for diabetic patients.

The necessity and impact of SARS-CoV2 on the world's health have led to developing and producing practical and useful vaccines for this deadly respiratory virus. Since April 2020, a vaccine for the virus has been developed. Given that comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are more prone to viruses and the risk of infection, vaccines should be designed to protect against high-risk respiratory illnesses. Including SARS, MERS, influenza, and the SARS-CoV-2 provide a safe immune response. Here, we review the information and studies that have been done to help develop strategies and perspectives for producing a safe and ideal vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in normal people, especially at high-risk groups such as diabetes patients.

Spectrum and Burden of Influenza Infection: An Approach to Identify Predictors of Morbidity and Mortality Rate from the Patients of the Northwest of Iran.

Background: The objective of this research is to analyze influenza-induced complications, symptoms, and the interaction of morbidity and mortality rates in hospitalized influenza cases based on age-sex dispersion, influenza virus subtype, prescribed medications, and underlying conditions. Materials and Methods: We performed this retrospective study using a dataset of 10,517 hospitalized individuals, including 3,101 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases from patients of all ages who had attended hospitals in the Northwest of Iran due to respiratory complications. Results: The most prevalent strain which circulated annually was influenza A/H3N2. In contrast to previous studies, our findings suggested that influenza A/H1N1 has the highest mortality rate and the most severe complications.Regardless of virus type/subtype, the most susceptible age group for influenza was 0-9 years old in both males and females. Meanwhile the high-risk age group among males was 50-59 years old and among females were over 80 age group (mortality rate ≈ 20%). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (32%) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (30%) were the most prevalent active underlying diseases among the patients who died, with the latter being more prevalent in males over the age of 70. Patients with a history of chemotherapy had the highest mortality rate. Patients who were prescribed a combination of antibiotics and antivirals had better outcomes with lowest mortality rate. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that annual influenza seasons are often marked by changes in influenza types and subtypes, with variations in the severity. Development of a standardized set of arrays that best correspond with infections, can be useful in guiding diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.

Extrapulmonary Clinical Manifestations in COVID-19 Patients.

COVID-19 manifestations in symptomatic patients can be in the form of pneumonia, acute respiratory syndrome, and multiple organ dysfunction as well. Renal complications, gastrointestinal dysfunctions, endocrine system disorders, myocardial dysfunction and arrhythmia, neurological dysfunctions, dermatological symptoms, hematological manifestations, and thromboinflammation are among the reported extrapulmonary complications. Moreover, the presence of coagulopathy, excessive and dysregulated immune responses, and autoimmunity by COVID-19 patients is considerable. The pathogenesis of infection entails the entry of the virus via receptors on cells, principally angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors. Direct virus damage coupled with indirect effects of viral infection including thromboinflammation, dysfunction of the immune system, and dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin system leads to multiple organ failure. This review outlines the extrapulmonary organ-specific complications and their pathophysiology and epidemiology.