Pathogenesis and progression of anosmia and dysgeusia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19 which was detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. As of September 2022, there have been over 612 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with over 6.5 million associated deaths. In many cases, anosmia and dysgeusia have been identified as primary symptoms of COVID-19 infection in patients. While the loss of smell (anosmia) and loss of taste (dysgeusia) due to COVID-19 infection is transient in most patients, many report that these symptoms persist following recovery. Understanding the pathogenesis of these symptoms is paramount to early treatment of the infection. We conducted a literature review of Google Scholar and PubMed to find and analyze studies discussing anosmia and dysgeusia in the context of COVID-19 to understand the progression and management of these symptoms. The mechanism for dysgeusia is largely unknown; however, pathogenesis of anosmia includes inflammation and cytokine release resulting from the infection that alters neuronal signaling, thus inducing the loss of smell that patients experience. Anosmia may be managed and potentially resolved sooner with a combination therapy of olfactory training and budesonide irrigation of the nasal cavity. It is important to note that the variants of SARS-CoV-2 are genetically distinguished from the original virion due to a mutation in their spike proteins, giving them a different symptom profile regarding anosmia and dysgeusia. This variability in symptomatology is an area of study that needs to be further explored.

Charge-based interactions through peptide position 4 drive diversity of antigen presentation by human leukocyte antigen class I molecules.

Human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) molecules bind and present peptides at the cell surface to facilitate the induction of appropriate CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses to pathogen- and self-derived proteins. The HLA-I peptide-binding cleft contains dominant anchor sites in the B and F pockets that interact primarily with amino acids at peptide position 2 and the C-terminus, respectively. Nonpocket peptide-HLA interactions also contribute to peptide binding and stability, but these secondary interactions are thought to be unique to individual HLA allotypes or to specific peptide antigens. Here, we show that two positively charged residues located near the top of peptide-binding cleft facilitate interactions with negatively charged residues at position 4 of presented peptides, which occur at elevated frequencies across most HLA-I allotypes. Loss of these interactions was shown to impair HLA-I/peptide binding and complex stability, as demonstrated by both in vitro and in silico experiments. Furthermore, mutation of these Arginine-65 (R65) and/or Lysine-66 (K66) residues in HLA-A*02:01 and A*24:02 significantly reduced HLA-I cell surface expression while also reducing the diversity of the presented peptide repertoire by up to 5-fold. The impact of the R65 mutation demonstrates that nonpocket HLA-I/peptide interactions can constitute anchor motifs that exert an unexpectedly broad influence on HLA-I-mediated antigen presentation. These findings provide fundamental insights into peptide antigen binding that could broadly inform epitope discovery in the context of viral vaccine development and cancer immunotherapy.

Adapting Survey Data Collection to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences From a Local Health Department.

The New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("Health Department") conducts routine surveys to describe the health of NYC residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Department adjusted existing surveys and developed new ones to improve our understanding of the impact of the pandemic on physical health, mental health, and social determinants of health and to incorporate more explicit measures of racial inequities. The longstanding Community Health Survey was adapted in 2020 to ask questions about COVID-19 and recruit respondents for a population-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurvey. A new survey panel, Healthy NYC, was launched in June 2020 and is being used to collect data on COVID-19, mental health, and social determinants of health. In addition, 7 Health Opinion Polls were conducted from March 2020 through March 2021 to learn about COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and opinions, including vaccine intentions. We describe the contributions that survey data have made to the emergency response in NYC in ways that address COVID-19 and the profound inequities of the pandemic. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(12):2176-2185. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306515).

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in New York City Adults, June-October 2020: A Population-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: Serosurveys help to ascertain burden of infection. Prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurveys in New York City (NYC) used nonrandom samples. During June-October 2020, the NYC Health Department conducted a population-based survey estimating SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in NYC adults. METHODS: Participants were recruited from the NYC 2020 Community Health Survey. We estimated citywide and stratified antibody prevalence using a hybrid design: serum tested with the DiaSorin LIAISON SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG assay and self-reported antibody test results were used together. We estimated univariate frequencies and 95% confidence intervals (CI), accounting for complex survey design. Two-sided P values ≤ .05 were statistically significant. RESULTS: There were 1074 respondents; 497 provided blood and 577 provided only a self-reported antibody test result. Weighted prevalence was 24.3% overall (95% CI, 20.7%-28.3%). Latino (30.7%; 95% CI, 24.1%-38.2%; P < .01) and black (30.7%; 95% CI, 21.9%-41.2%; P = .02) respondents had a higher weighted prevalence compared with white respondents (17.4%; 95% CI, 12.5%-23.7%). CONCLUSIONS: By October 2020, nearly 1 in 3 black and 1 in 3 Latino NYC adults had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, highlighting unequal impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on black and Latino NYC adults.