Blood Transcriptomes of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody-Positive Healthy Individuals Who Experienced Asymptomatic Versus Clinical Infection.

The reasons behind the clinical variability of SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranging from asymptomatic infection to lethal disease, are still unclear. We performed genome-wide transcriptional whole-blood RNA sequencing, bioinformatics analysis and PCR validation to test the hypothesis that immune response-related gene signatures reflecting baseline may differ between healthy individuals, with an equally robust antibody response, who experienced an entirely asymptomatic (n=17) versus clinical SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=15) in the past months (mean of 14 weeks). Among 12.789 protein-coding genes analysed, we identified six and nine genes with significantly decreased or increased expression, respectively, in those with prior asymptomatic infection relatively to those with clinical infection. All six genes with decreased expression (IFIT3, IFI44L, RSAD2, FOLR3, PI3, ALOX15), are involved in innate immune response while the first two are interferon-induced proteins. Among genes with increased expression six are involved in immune response (GZMH, CLEC1B, CLEC12A), viral mRNA translation (GCAT), energy metabolism (CACNA2D2) and oxidative stress response (ENC1). Notably, 8/15 differentially expressed genes are regulated by interferons. Our results suggest that subtle differences at baseline expression of innate immunity-related genes may be associated with an asymptomatic disease course in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Whether a certain gene signature predicts, or not, those who will develop a more efficient immune response upon exposure to SARS-CoV-2, with implications for prioritization for vaccination, warrant further study.

Molecular Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Greece Reveals Low Rates of Onward Virus Transmission after Lifting of Travel Restrictions Based on Risk Assessment during Summer 2020.

The novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread rapidly during the first months of 2020 and continues to expand in multiple areas across the globe. Molecular epidemiology has provided an added value to traditional public health tools by identifying SARS-CoV-2 clusters or providing evidence that clusters based on virus sequences and contact tracing are highly concordant. Our aim was to infer the levels of virus importation and to estimate the impact of public health measures related to travel restrictions to local transmission in Greece. Our phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses included 389 full-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected during the first 7 months of the pandemic in Greece and a random collection in five replicates of 3,000 sequences sampled globally, as well as the best hits to our data set identified by BLAST. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed by the maximum likelihood method, and the putative source of SARS-CoV-2 infections was inferred by phylogeographic analysis. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of 89 genetically distinct viruses identified as independent introductions into Greece. The proportion of imported strains was 41%, 11.5%, and 8.8% during the three periods of sampling, namely, March (no travel restrictions), April to June (strict travel restrictions), and July to September (lifting of travel restrictions based on thorough risk assessment), respectively. The results of phylogeographic analysis were confirmed by a Bayesian approach. Our findings reveal low levels of onward transmission from imported cases during summer and underscore the importance of targeted public health measures that can increase the safety of international travel during a pandemic. IMPORTANCE Our study based on current state-of-the-art molecular epidemiology methods suggests that virus screening and public health measures after the lifting of travel restrictions prevented SARS-CoV-2 onward transmission from imported cases during summer 2020 in Greece. These findings provide important data on the efficacy of targeted public health measures and have important implications regarding the safety of international travel during a pandemic. Our results can provide a roadmap about prevention policy in the future regarding the reopening of borders in the presence of differences in vaccination coverage, the circulation of the virus, and the presence of newly emergent variants across the globe.

Distinct transcriptional profile of blood mononuclear cells in Behçet's disease: insights into the central role of neutrophil chemotaxis.

OBJECTIVES: Both innate and adaptive immune responses are reportedly increased in Behçet's disease (BD), a chronic, relapsing systemic vasculitis lying at the intersection between autoinflammation and autoimmunity. To further study pathophysiologic molecular mechanisms operating in BD, we searched for transcriptome-wide changes in blood mononuclear cells from these patients. METHODS: We performed 3' mRNA next-generation sequencing-based genome-wide transcriptional profiling followed by analysis of differential expression signatures, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, GO biological processes and transcription factor signatures. RESULTS: Differential expression analysis clustered the transcriptomes of 13 patients and one healthy subject separately from those of 10 healthy age/gender-matched controls and one patient. Among the total of 17 591 expressed protein-coding genes, 209 and 31 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in BD vs controls by at least 2-fold. The most upregulated genes comprised an abundance of CC- and CXC-chemokines. Remarkably, the 5 out of top 10 upregulated biological processes involved leucocyte recruitment to peripheral tissues, especially for neutrophils. Moreover, NF-kB, TNF and IL-1 signalling pathways were prominently enhanced in BD, while transcription factor activity analysis suggested that the NF-kB p65/RELA subunit action underlies the observed differences in the BD transcriptome. CONCLUSION: This RNA-sequencing analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from patients with BD does not support a major pathogenetic role for adaptive immunity-driven mechanisms, but clearly points to the action of aberrant innate immune responses with a central role played by upregulated neutrophil chemotaxis.

Large-scale genetic perturbations reveal regulatory networks and an abundance of gene-specific repressors.

To understand regulatory systems, it would be useful to uniformly determine how different components contribute to the expression of all other genes. We therefore monitored mRNA expression genome-wide, for individual deletions of one-quarter of yeast genes, focusing on (putative) regulators. The resulting genetic perturbation signatures reflect many different properties. These include the architecture of protein complexes and pathways, identification of expression changes compatible with viability, and the varying responsiveness to genetic perturbation. The data are assembled into a genetic perturbation network that shows different connectivities for different classes of regulators. Four feed-forward loop (FFL) types are overrepresented, including incoherent type 2 FFLs that likely represent feedback. Systematic transcription factor classification shows a surprisingly high abundance of gene-specific repressors, suggesting that yeast chromatin is not as generally restrictive to transcription as is often assumed. The data set is useful for studying individual genes and for discovering properties of an entire regulatory system.

Enhanced chromatin dynamics by FACT promotes transcriptional restart after UV-induced DNA damage.

Chromatin remodeling is tightly linked to all DNA-transacting activities. To study chromatin remodeling during DNA repair, we established quantitative fluorescence imaging methods to measure the exchange of histones in chromatin in living cells. We show that particularly H2A and H2B are evicted and replaced at an accelerated pace at sites of UV-induced DNA damage. This accelerated exchange of H2A/H2B is facilitated by SPT16, one of the two subunits of the histone chaperone FACT (facilitates chromatin transcription) but largely independent of its partner SSRP1. Interestingly, SPT16 is targeted to sites of UV light-induced DNA damage-arrested transcription and is required for efficient restart of RNA synthesis upon damage removal. Together, our data uncover an important role for chromatin dynamics at the crossroads of transcription and the UV-induced DNA damage response.