Clonal dissemination of Acinetobacter radioresistens among Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) inhabiting a barren northern Peruvian island.

Acinetobacter spp. are often isolated from natural sources, but knowledge about their presence in wild animals is fragmented and uncomplete. The present study aimed to characterize a series of Acinetobacter radioresistens isolated from Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). Fifteen Humboldt penguins from an inhabited northern Peruvian island were sampled. Microorganisms were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Antibiotic susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial agents was established, and clonal relationships were determined. A representative isolate was selected for whole genome sequencing (WGS). A. radioresistens were isolated from the feces of 12 (80%) Humboldt penguins, being susceptible to all the antimicrobial agents tested, except eight cefotaxime-intermediate isolates. All A. radioresistens were clonally related. WGS showed that the isolate belonged to ST1972, the presence of two chromosomal encoded carbapenemases (blaOXA-23 and a putative subclass B3 metallo-ß-lactamase), and a series of point mutations in antibiotic-resistance related chromosomal genes, which were considered as polymorphisms. In addition, a few virulence factors, including a capsule-encoding operon, superoxide dismutases, catalases, phospholipases and a siderophore receptor were identified. The present results suggest that A. radioresistens may be a common member of the gut microbiota of Humboldt penguins, but further studies in other geographical areas are needed to establish this finding.

High Anti-Interferon-Alpha Autoantibody Levels in Severe/Critical COVID-19 Patients from Peru.

Innate immune responses through the production of type I interferon-α (anti-IFN-α) play an essential role in the defense against viruses. The autoantibodies (auto-Abs) anti-IFN-α are implicated in COVID-19 pathogenesis with higher levels among patients with worse prognoses. The study aimed to assess the levels of anti-IFN-α auto-Abs in Peruvian patients with severe/critical hospitalized COVID-19 compared to asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 outpatients and healthy controls. We analyzed 101 serum samples, including 56 (55.5%) severe/critical, 13 (12.3%) asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 patients, and 32 (32.2%) healthy controls, which we tested using a commercial ELISA anti-IFN-α-auto-Abs kit. We observed seropositivity of 48.2% (26/54) to anti-IFN-α auto-Abs among the severe/critical COVID-19 group, but 0% (0/13) and 3.1% (1/32) among the asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 and healthy groups (P = 0.021), respectively. Furthermore, we observed a significant association between the log10 of anti-IFN-α auto-Abs and the COVID-19 status, with the log10 of anti-IFN-α auto-Abs levels being significantly higher among the severe/critical COVID-19 group compared to the healthy controls (ß = 1.20; confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.72-1.67; P < 0.001). Such association remains significant either when adjusted by age and gender (adjusted ß = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.62-1.70; P < 0.001) and when adjusted by the subjects' age, gender, and obesity (adjusted ß = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.62-1.70; P < 0.001). Despite not measuring neutralizing activity, this study highlights the high frequency of these auto-Abs in the Peruvian population with a worse prognosis of COVID-19.

Zonulin, a marker of gut permeability, is associated with mortality in a cohort of hospitalised peruvian COVID-19 patients.

Zonulin has previously been related to intestinal permeability in various inflammatory diseases, and more recently to the physiopathology of severe COVID-19 infections. We analysed serum samples from a previous study of a Peruvian cohort of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, for the quantification of zonulin by sandwich ELISA. Comparisons with clinical data, haematological and biochemical parameters and cytokine/chemokine levels were made. We found higher baseline zonulin levels in deceased patients, and zonulin was associated with fatal outcome in multivariable analyses, even after adjustment for age, gender, and obesity. There were also positive correlations between zonulin, creatinine, D-dimer values and prothrombin time, while inverse correlations were found for Sa/FiO2 ratio and CCL5 (RANTES). Further longitudinal studies are recommended to analyse the variation of zonulin levels over time as well as their relationship with long-COVID.

Corrigendum: Zonulin, a marker of gut permeability, is associated with mortality in a cohort of hospitalised peruvian COVID-19 patients.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1000291.].