scholarly journals Anti-phospholipid syndrome and COVID-19 thrombosis: connecting the dots

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moon Ley Tung ◽  
Bryce Tan ◽  
Robin Cherian ◽  
Bharatendu Chandra

Abstract As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is spreading rapidly worldwide, it has emerged as a leading cause of mortality, resulting in >1 million deaths over the past 10 months. The pathophysiology of COVID-19 remains unclear, posing a great challenge to the medical management of patients. Recent studies have reported an unusually high prevalence of thromboembolic events in COVID-19 patients, although the mechanism remains elusive. Several studies have reported the presence of aPLs in COVID-19 patients. We have noticed similarities between COVID-19 and APS, which is an autoimmune prothrombotic disease that is often associated with an infective aetiology. Molecular mimicry and endothelial dysfunction could plausibly explain the mechanism of thrombogenesis in acquired APS. In this review, we discuss the clinicopathological similarities between COVID-19 and APS, and the potential role of therapeutic targets based on the anti-phospholipid model for COVID-19 disease.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Shiphrah Vethakanraj ◽  
Niveditha Chandrasekaran ◽  
Ashok Kumar Sekar

: Acid ceramidase (AC), the key enzyme of the ceramide metabolic pathway hydrolyzes pro-apoptotic ceramide to sphingosine, which by the action of sphingosine-1-kinase is metabolized to mitogenic sphingosine-1-phosphate. The intracellular level of AC determines ceramide/sphingosine-1-phosphate rheostat which in turn decides the cell fate. The upregulated AC expression during cancerous condition acts as a “double-edged sword” by converting pro-apoptotic ceramide to anti-apoptotic sphingosine-1-phosphate, wherein on one end, the level of ceramide is decreased and on the other end, the level of sphingosine-1-phosphate is increased, thus altogether aggravating the cancer progression. In addition, cancer cells with upregulated AC expression exhibited increased cell proliferation, metastasis, chemoresistance, radioresistance and numerous strategies were developed in the past to effectively target the enzyme. Gene silencing and pharmacological inhibition of AC sensitized the resistant cells to chemo/radiotherapy thereby promoting cell death. The core objective of this review is to explore AC mediated tumour progression and the potential role of AC inhibitors in various cancer cell lines/models.


Author(s):  
Ranjeet S. Sawant ◽  
Bharat D. Zinjurke ◽  
Sandeep V. Binorkar

Abstract The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV 2) and unique in various facets. The earlier experience from the past severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemics seem to be insufficient and there is need for better strategies in public health and medical care. Ayurved & Yog are well known for their preventive and therapeutic aspect, but not getting utilized properly for prevention of Covid 19 crisis which may also be helpful as supportive therapy along with current line of management. This paper is aimed at unrevealing the role of Ayurved and Yoga guidelines established by Department of AYUSH for prevention from SARS-CoV-2 by providing help to improving the quality of supportive/prophylactic therapy in relation with their immunity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79
Author(s):  
Alexandra Lee ◽  
◽  
Warwick Butt ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  

Inhaled nitric oxide has been used for 30 years to improve oxygenation and decrease pulmonary vascular resistance. In the past 15 years, there has been increased understanding of the role of endogenous nitric oxide on cell surface receptors, mitochondria, and intracellular processes involving calcium and superoxide radicals. This has led to several animal and human experiments revealing a potential role for administered nitric oxide or nitric oxide donors in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome or ischaemia–reperfusion injury, and in patients for whom exposure of blood to artificial surfaces has occurred.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Matsumoto ◽  
Rita C. Tostes ◽  
R. Clinton Webb

The endothelium plays a pivotal role in vascular homeostasis, and endothelial dysfunction is a major feature of cardiovascular diseases, such as arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Recently, uridine adenosine tetraphosphate (Up4A) has been identified as a novel and potent endothelium-derived contracting factor (EDCF). Up4A structurally contains both purine and pyrimidine moieties, which activate purinergic receptors. There is an accumulating body of evidence to show that Up4A modulates vascular function by actions on endothelial and smooth muscle cells. In this paper, we discuss the effects of Up4A on vascular function and a potential role for Up4A in cardiovascular diseases.


1996 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 2031-2040 ◽  
Author(s):  
B J Appelmelk ◽  
I Simoons-Smit ◽  
R Negrini ◽  
A P Moran ◽  
G O Aspinall ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Anthony Ryle

This series provides a selection of articles from the past. In Fifty years ago: The scope of occupational medicine in a university health service Anthony Ryle briefly explores the potential role of a University Health Service in relation to students’ academic achievements and failures, rather than their physical health and safety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eilidh Bruce ◽  
Fenella Barlow-Pay ◽  
Roxanna Short ◽  
Arturo Vilches-Moraga ◽  
Angeline Price ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection causes acute lung injury, resulting from aggressive inflammation initiated by viral replication. There has been much speculation about the potential role of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which increase the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a binding target for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to enter the host cell, which could lead to poorer outcomes in COVID-19 disease. The aim of this study was to examine the association between routine use of NSAIDs and outcomes in hospitalised patients with COVID-19. This was a multicentre, observational study, with data collected from adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to eight UK hospitals. Of 1222 patients eligible to be included, 54 (4.4%) were routinely prescribed NSAIDs prior to admission. Univariate results suggested a modest protective effect from the use of NSAIDs, but in the multivariable analysis, there was no association between prior NSAID use and time to mortality (adjusted HR (aHR) = 0.89, 95% CI 0.52–1.53, p = 0.67) or length of stay (aHR 0.89, 95% CI 0.59–1.35, p = 0.58). This study found no evidence that routine NSAID use was associated with higher COVID-19 mortality in hospitalised patients; therefore, patients should be advised to continue taking these medications until further evidence emerges. Our findings suggest that NSAID use might confer a modest benefit with regard to survival. However, as this finding was underpowered, further research is required.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fátima Abreu-Salinas ◽  
Dafne Díaz-Jiménez ◽  
Isidro García-Meniño ◽  
Pilar Lumbreras ◽  
Ana María López-Beceiro ◽  
...  

The aim of this work was to assess the prevalence of extended spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)- and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in fecal samples recovered from rural and urban healthy dogs in Northwest Spain (Galicia) to identify potential high-risk clones and to molecularly characterize positive isolates regarding the genes coding for ESBL/pAmpC resistance and virulence. Thirty-five (19.6%) out of 179 dogs were positive for cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, including Escherichiacoli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (39 and three isolates, respectively). All the isolates were multidrug resistant, with high rates of resistance to different drugs, including ciprofloxacin (71.4%). A wide diversity of ESBL/pAmpC enzymes, as well as E. coli phylogroups (A, B1, C, D, E, F and clade I) were found. The eight isolates (20.5%) found to conform to the ExPEC status, belonged to clones O1:H45-clade I-ST770 (CH11-552), O18:H11-A-ST93-CC168 (CH11-neg), O23:H16-B1-ST453-CC86 (CH6-31), and O83:H42-F-ST1485-CC648 (CH231-58), with the latter also complying the uropathogenic (UPEC) status. The three K. pneumoniae recovered produced CTX-M-15 and belonged to the ST307, a clone previously reported in human clinical isolates. Our study highlights the potential role of both rural and urban dogs as a reservoir of high-risk Enterobacteriaceae clones, such as the CC648 of E. coli and antimicrobial resistance traits. Within a One-Health approach, their surveillance should be a priority in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.


Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Lazartigues ◽  
Mirza Muhammad Fahd Qadir ◽  
Franck Mauvais-Jarvis

Abstract The current COVID-19 pandemic is the most disruptive event in the past 50 years, with a global impact on health care and world economies. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a coronavirus that uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as an entry point to the cells. ACE2 is a transmembrane carboxypeptidase and member of the renin-angiotensin system. This mini-review summarizes the main findings regarding ACE2 expression and function in endocrine tissues. We discuss rapidly evolving knowledge on the potential role of ACE2 and SARS coronaviruses in endocrinology and the development of diabetes mellitus, hypogonadism, and pituitary and thyroid diseases.


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