Activation of the MAPK network provides a survival advantage during the course of COVID-19-induced sepsis: a real-world evidence analysis of a multicenter COVID-19 Sepsis Cohort.

PURPOSE: There is evidence that lower activity of the RAF/MEK/ERK network is associated with positive outcomes in mild and moderate courses of COVID-19. The effect of this cascade in COVID-19 sepsis is still undetermined. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that activity of the RAF/MEK/ERK network in COVID-19-induced sepsis is associated with an impact on 30-day survival. METHODS: We used biomaterial from 81 prospectively recruited patients from the multicentric CovidDataNet.NRW-study cohort (German clinical trial registry: DRKS00026184) with their collected medical history, vital signs, laboratory parameters, microbiological findings and patient outcome. ERK activity was measured by evaluating ERK phosphorylation using a Proximity Ligation Assay. RESULTS: An increased ERK activity at 4 days after diagnosis of COVID-19-induced sepsis was associated with a more than threefold increased chance of survival in an adjusted Cox regression model. ERK activity was independent of other confounders such as Charlson Comorbidity Index or SOFA score (HR 0.28, 95% CI 0.10-0.84, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: High activity of the RAF/MEK/ERK network during the course of COVID-19 sepsis is a protective factor and may indicate recovery of the immune system. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

Assessing SOFA score trajectories in sepsis using machine learning: A pragmatic approach to improve the accuracy of mortality prediction.

INTRODUCTION: An increasing amount of longitudinal health data is available on critically ill septic patients in the age of digital medicine, including daily sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score measurements. Thus, the assessment in sepsis focuses increasingly on the evaluation of the individual disease's trajectory. Machine learning (ML) algorithms may provide a promising approach here to improve the evaluation of daily SOFA score dynamics. We tested whether ML algorithms can outperform the conventional ΔSOFA score regarding the accuracy of 30-day mortality prediction. METHODS: We used the multicentric SepsisDataNet.NRW study cohort that prospectively enrolled 252 sepsis patients between 03/2018 and 09/2019 for training ML algorithms, i.e. support vector machine (SVM) with polynomial kernel and artificial neural network (aNN). We used the Amsterdam UMC database covering 1,790 sepsis patients for external and independent validation. RESULTS: Both SVM (AUC 0.84; 95% CI: 0.71-0.96) and aNN (AUC 0.82; 95% CI: 0.69-0.95) assessing the SOFA scores of the first seven days led to a more accurate prognosis of 30-day mortality compared to the ΔSOFA score between day 1 and 7 (AUC 0.73; 95% CI: 0.65-0.80; p = 0.02 and p = 0.05, respectively). These differences were even more prominent the shorter the time interval considered. Using the SOFA scores of day 1 to 3 SVM (AUC 0.82; 95% CI: 0.68 0.95) and aNN (AUC 0.80; 95% CI: 0.660.93) led to a more accurate prognosis of 30-day mortality compared to the ΔSOFA score (AUC 0.66; 95% CI: 0.58-0.74; p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). Strikingly, all these findings could be confirmed in the independent external validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The ML-based algorithms using daily SOFA scores markedly improved the accuracy of mortality compared to the conventional ΔSOFA score. Therefore, this approach could provide a promising and automated approach to assess the individual disease trajectory in sepsis. These findings reflect the potential of incorporating ML algorithms as robust and generalizable support tools on intensive care units.

A novel complex mutation event in the peripherin/RDS gene in a family with retinal pattern dystrophy.

PURPOSE: To report a complex mutation in the peripherin/RDS gene found in a family in whom retinal pattern dystrophy is segregating as an autosomal dominant trait. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from family members of a large Swiss family affected by autosomal dominant retinal pattern dystrophy. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the candidate gene peripherin/RDS and subsequent sequencing of the first exon were performed. RESULTS: Pattern dystrophy of the retina was suspected in 18 family members aged 30 years or older. Assuming a homogeneous phenotype, the candidate locus peripherin/RDS was investigated. SSCP analysis of the first exon of the peripherin/RDS gene showed an aberrant pattern in 18 affected individuals. Direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products detected a complex mutation, del265-268GCCA ins AGGGCC, leading to a stop codon at amino acid position 99. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, we report the first complex mutation in the peripherin/RDS gene as the cause of a mild macular phenotype, supporting the importance of molecular diagnosis in genetic counseling.

Clinical description and exclusion of candidate genes in a novel autosomal recessively inherited vitreoretinal dystrophy.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical phenotype of a novel autosomal recessively inherited vitreoretinal dystrophy in one generation of a family originating from eastern Switzerland. METHODS: A clinical study including electroretinographic investigations followed by laboratory-based genetic and molecular analysis. Four affected and 3 unaffected members of the family were examined. Ten candidate regions were tested by linkage analysis with highly polymorphic molecular markers or with intragenic restriction fragment length polymorphisms. RESULTS: Of 8 siblings,4 were affected, showing high myopia with pronounced vitreous liquefaction, retinitis pigmentosa-like retinal degeneration, diffuse retinal pigment epithelium atrophy, macular staphylomata, and premature cataract formation. Strikingly abnormal results on electroretinograms, affecting both the rod and the cone systems, revealed an extensive defect of retinal function, unlike those usually found in pathologic myopia. No extraocular manifestations were observed. Three types of nonsyndromic high myopia, Stickler syndrome I, II, and III, Wagner syndrome, Knobloch syndrome, Goldmann-Favre dystrophy, and multiple vitreoretinopathies were excluded by linkage analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The reported phenotype as well as the results of molecular linkage analysis in the siblings described here suggest an autosomal recessively inherited vitreoretinal dystrophy, which, to our knowledge, has not been described until now.

Genomewide homozygosity mapping and molecular analysis of a candidate gene located on 22q13 (fibulin-1) in a previously undescribed vitreoretinal dystrophy.

OBJECTIVES: To localize the gene that causes an autosomal recessively inherited vitreoretinal dystrophy that has not been described, to our knowledge, and to analyze a candidate gene mapped to 22q13 (fibulin-1 [FBLN1]). METHODS: Homozygosity mapping with 500 microsatellite markers spread over the whole genome (mean distance, 7.2 centimorgans [cM]) and mutation analysis of the complete coding region of FBLN1. RESULTS: Homozygosity for all analyzed markers was found in the 4 affected siblings in a region on chromosome 22 encompassing 12 cM from D22S444 (centromeric) to D22S1170 (telomeric). Lod scores were between 0.017 and 2.36 (theta = 0). A mutation analysis of the complete coding region of FBLN1, which encodes interacting extracellular matrix proteins, revealed 4 previously undescribed single nucleotide polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: A genomewide homozygosity mapping analysis supported the hypothesis that the gene responsible for a unique vitreoretinal dystrophy is located on chromosome 22q13. No obviously pathogenic mutation was found in the candidate gene, FBLN1.