Induction of remission with tacrolimus in a patient with severe acute, cortisone refractory ulcerative colitis and severe Covid-19 pneumonia: a case report

Background Therapy regimens used in patients with inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) have been associated with enhanced risk of viral infections or viral reactivation. Moreover, it is uncertain whether IBD patients have increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or infected patients may have an increased risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Managing severe acute flare in ulcerative colitis during the Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge for clinicians and their patients. The results of the published studies mainly report on the role of the prior medication, but not how to treat severe acute flare of IBD patients with severe Covid-19 pneumonia. Case presentation We report the case of a 68-year-old patient with a long history of ulcerative colitis. He was initially admitted to an external hospital because of severe acute flare. The initiation of a high-dose oral cortisone therapy did not improve the clinical symptoms. During the inpatient treatment, he was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. At admission to our hospital the patient showed severe flare of his ulcerative colitis and increased Covid-19 symptoms. A cortisone-refractory course was noticed. After detailed multidisciplinary risk–benefit assessment, we initiated an intravenous tacrolimus therapy and dose of prednisolone was tapered gradually. After clinical response, the therapy was adjusted to infliximab. Additionally, the Covid-19 pneumonia was kept under control despite immunosuppression and the patient could be discharged in clinical remission. Conclusions This case suggest the use of tacrolimus as a bridging therapeutic option for severe acute, cortisone refractory ulcerative colitis in Covid-19 patients. Nevertheless, the best treatment strategy for IBD patients presenting a flare during the outbreak has yet to be defined. Further data for IBD patients under calcineurin inhibitor therapy are urgently needed.

Release of HSV-1 Cell-Free Virions: Mechanisms, Regulation, and Likely Role in Human-Human Transmission

Herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1, is a widespread human pathogen that replicates in epithelial cells of the body surface and then establishes latent infection in peripheral neurons. When HSV-1 replicates, viral progeny must be efficiently released to spread infection to new target cells. Viral spread occurs via two major routes. In cell-cell spread, progeny virions are delivered directly to cellular junctions, where they infect adjacent cells. In cell-free release, progeny virions are released into the extracellular milieu, potentially allowing the infection of distant cells. Cell-cell spread of HSV-1 has been well studied and is known to be important for in vivo infection and pathogenesis. In contrast, HSV-1 cell-free release has received less attention, and its significance to viral biology is unclear. Here, I review the mechanisms and regulation of HSV-1 cell-free virion release. Based on knowledge accrued in other herpesviral systems, I argue that HSV-1 cell-free release is likely to be tightly regulated in vivo. Specifically, I hypothesize that this process is generally suppressed as the virus replicates within the body, but activated to high levels at sites of viral reactivation, such as the oral mucosa and skin, in order to promote efficient transmission of HSV-1 to new human hosts.

Public T-Cell Receptors (TCRs) Revisited by Analysis of the Magnitude of Identical and Highly-Similar TCRs in Virus-Specific T-Cell Repertoires of Healthy Individuals

Since multiple different T-cell receptor (TCR) sequences can bind to the same peptide-MHC combination and the number of TCR-sequences that can theoretically be generated even exceeds the number of T cells in a human body, the likelihood that many public identical (PUB-I) TCR-sequences frequently contribute to immune responses has been estimated to be low. Here, we quantitatively analyzed the TCR-repertoires of 190 purified virus-specific memory T-cell populations, directed against 21 antigens of Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Adenovirus isolated from 29 healthy individuals, and determined the magnitude, defined as prevalence within the population and frequencies within individuals, of PUB-I TCR and of TCR-sequences that are highly-similar (PUB-HS) to these PUB-I TCR-sequences. We found that almost one third of all TCR nucleotide-sequences represented PUB-I TCR amino-acid (AA) sequences and found an additional 12% of PUB-HS TCRs differing by maximally 3 AAs. We illustrate that these PUB-I and PUB-HS TCRs were structurally related and contained shared core-sequences in their TCR-sequences. We found a prevalence of PUB-I and PUB-HS TCRs of up to 50% among individuals and showed frequencies of virus-specific PUB-I and PUB-HS TCRs making up more than 10% of each virus-specific T-cell population. These findings were confirmed by using an independent TCR-database of virus-specific TCRs. We therefore conclude that the magnitude of the contribution of PUB-I and PUB-HS TCRs to these virus-specific T-cell responses is high. Because the T cells from these virus-specific memory TCR-repertoires were the result of successful control of the virus in these healthy individuals, these PUB-HS TCRs and PUB-I TCRs may be attractive candidates for immunotherapy in immunocompromised patients that lack virus-specific T cells to control viral reactivation.

Nanomembrane-based Apheresis as Safe and Effective Therapy for Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation

BACKGROUND: Heavy training schedules or endurance competitions in marathon are forms of extreme physical stress and lead to immunodepression in runners which could be associated with increased susceptibility to viral reactivation by ubiquitous viral infection such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Lately, it was confirmed presence of elevated CMV and EBV loads and the lower antibody titers in competitive athletes. The most common clinical features are fatigue and adynamia accompanied with liver damage, varying from mild and transient elevation of aminotransferases to serious acute hepatitis and liver failure. CASE REPORT: Bearing in mind that a professional practice of marathon running is hazardous for the liver, therapeutic action is necessary as soon as possible to avoid serious complications and even cessation of professional competition. In our case report of professional female marathon runner, we need to treat CMV and EBV reactivation which caused liver damage, prevented regular trainings, and upcoming competitions. We opted for four sessions of nanomembrane based apheresis performed every other day for removal pathological products resulting from virus reactivation to break through the course of the disease and to prevent complications. After completing the whole procedure control laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasound were in physiological ranges. CONCLUSION: Hence, nanomembrane based apheresis can be effective and safe treatment of liver damages for elite marathon runners as well as for athletes.

Reactivation of EBV and CMV in Severe COVID-19—Epiphenomena or Trigger of Hyperinflammation in Need of Treatment? A Large Case Series of Critically ill Patients

Background Reactivation of viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) are common in critically ill patients and have been described in patients with severe COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether these reactivations are associated with increased mortality and whether targeted treatments are beneficial. Methods In a retrospective single-center cohort study, patients with severe COVID-19 treated on our intensive care unit (ICU) were screened for EBV and CMV reactivation as detected by polymerase chain reaction. If present, patient characteristics, temporal connections to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 diagnosis and corticosteroid use, the use of targeted treatments as well as the course of disease and outcome were analyzed. As control group, non-COVID-19 patients with sepsis, treated within the same time period on our ICU, served as control group to compare incidences of viral reactivation. Results In 19 (16%) of 117 patients with severe COVID-19 treated on our ICU EBV reactivations were identified, comparable 18 (14%) of 126 in the non-COVID-19 control group ( P = .672). Similarly, in 11 (9%) of 117 patients CMV reactivations were identified, comparable to the 16 (13%) of 126 in the non-COVID-19 sepsis patients ( P = .296). The majority of EBV (58%) and CMV reactivations (55%) were detected in patients under systemic corticosteroid treatment. 7 (37%) of 19 patients with EBV reactivation survived the ICU stay, 2 (29%) of 7 patients with rituximab treatment and 5 (42%) of 12 patients without treatment ( P = .568). Five (50%) of 10 patients with CMV reactivation survived the ICU stay, 5 (83%) of 6 patients with ganciclovir treatment and 0 of 4 patients without treatment ( P = .048). Follow-up analysis in these patients showed that the initiation of treatment lead to decrease in viral load. Conclusion Critically ill patients with COVID-19 are at a high risk for EBV and CMV reactivations. Whether these reactivations are a cause of hyperinflammation and require targeted treatment remains uncertain. However, in patients with clinical deterioration or signs of hyperinflammation targeted treatment might be beneficial and warrants further studying.

De-Escalation of Ptcy Dosing in Matched Allogenic Transplants: A Single Institution Retrospective Study

Introduction The role of post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in preventing acute GVHD (aGVHD) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) has been well established in the haploidentical setting (Al-Homsi AS et al., Post-transplant high-dose cyclophosphamide for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2015;21(4):604-611). More recently, several studies are also supporting its use in matched related and unrelated donors (Williams L et al., Post-transplantation Cyclophosphamide: From HLA-Haploidentical to Matched-Related and Matched-Unrelated Donor Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Front Immunol. 2020;11(April):1-7). But as new emerging data are starting to show some toxicities from that regimen, a reevaluation of the optimal PTCy dose is highly valuable (Duléry R et al., Early Cardiac Toxicity Associated with Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation. JACC CardioOncology. 2021;3(2):250-259; Goldsmith et al., Posttransplant cyclophosphamide is associated with increased cytomegalovirus infection: a CIBMTR analysis. Blood. 2021;137(23):3291-3305). PTCy dose de-escalation in preventing GvHD was also evaluated in a phase I/II study (NCT03983850) with initial results indicating that de-escalation of PTCy (DL2, 25 mg/kg/day given in Days 3−4) may provide a feasible and effective approach in preventing severe aGvHD(McAdams MJ et al., Phase I Study De-Intensifying Exposure of Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide (PTCy) after HLA-Haploidentical Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) for Hematologic Malignancies. Transplant Cell Ther Off Publ Am Soc Transplant Cell Ther. 2021;27(3): S9-S11). However, this was in the setting of haplo-identical transplants. Currently there are no studies that investigate the safety and efficacy of a lower dose of PTCy in matched allogenic transplants. Methods We retrospectively selected 37 consecutive patients who underwent transplant at our center from January 2017 to April 2021. Patients who received a mismatched or haploidentical transplants were excluded. 26 matched sibling or matched unrelated donor transplants were further analyzed. These were divided into 3 cohorts according to GVHD prophylaxis: cohort 1 (No-PTCy) received standard calcineurin inhibitor-methotrexate based GVHD prophylaxis (n=16), cohort 2 (PTCy-50) received PTCy at 50 mg/kg (D+3 and D+4) in combination other immunosuppressive drugs (ISD) (n=6), and cohort 3 (PTCy-25) received PTCy at 25 mg/kg (D+3 and D+4) in combination with other ISD (n=4). The reduced PTCy dosing was based on physician discretion due to various reasons (2 cardiac risk, 1 heavy pre-treatment, 1 unknown). Results Baseline characteristics are summarized in table 1. Median follow up for all survivors was 523 days (range, 97-1463) while it was shorter for PTCy cohorts at 152 days (97-534). There were zero grade 3 aGVHD in PTCy groups compared to 12.5% (2/16) in No-PTCy cohort (p=0.30). cGVHD was significantly lower in PTCy-50 and PTCy-25 as compared to No-PTCy (0/6, 0/4, 5/16 respectively, p=0.04). The 100-day treatment-related mortality (TRM) was significantly lower in PTCy-25 as compared to PTCy-50 and No-PTCy (0/4, 2/6, 2/16 respectively, p<0.001). There was no viral reactivation (EBV/CMV) in PTCy-25 as compared to 1/6 in PTCy-50 and 5/16 in No-PTCy (p=0.54). The length of hospital stay (LOS) for transplant and the median days for neutrophil recovery (NR) were shorter in PTCy-25 as compared to PTCy-50 and No-PTCy (25.5 days, 31 days and 28.5 days respectively for LOS, p=0.60; 15.5 days, 22 days and 17.5 days for NR, p=0.87). Although the overall survival (OS) seems to favor PTCy-25 (Figure 1), it is limited by short follow up. Conclusion De-escalating the dose of PTCy to 25mg/kg x 2 in GVHD prophylaxis regimens appears to be efficacious and safe in patients receiving matched allogenic transplant. Further prospective studies including a larger patient sample and longer follow-up is warranted to investigate lower PTCy dosing in matched transplants over the current standard dosing. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Effects of Age on Delayed Facial Palsy After Otologic Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: To report 4 cases of delayed facial palsy (DFP) after pediatric middle ear (ME) surgery and systematically review and analyze the associated literature to evaluate the effects of age on DFP etiology, management, and prognosis. Methods: Systematic review of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase for articles related to DFP after cochlear implantation (CI) was performed. These articles were assessed for level of evidence, methodological limitations, and number of cases. Meta-analysis was performed to assess the effects of age on DFP incidence. Furthermore, a comprehensive list of all pediatric DFP cases after otologic surgery was assembled through a multi-institutional retrospective review and systematic review of the literature. Results: Twenty-nine articles fit the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The incidence of DFP after CI was 0.23% and 1.01% for pediatric and adult cases, respectively. This difference was statistically significant ( P < .001, odds ratio 4.36). Twenty-three cases, adding to the 4 presented herein, were suitable for a comprehensive list. The mean age was 6.9 years. Average postoperative day of paresis onset was 5.4, with an average maximum House–Brackmann grade of 3.5. All patients obtained full facial recovery after an average of 23.5 days. Conclusions: The systematic review demonstrates that DFP after pediatric CI is rare and occurs at a significantly lower rate than in adults, further supporting the viral reactivation hypothesis of DFP. The prognosis for pediatric DFP after otologic surgery is excellent, with a high rate of full recovery in a short time frame. However, steroid administration can be considered. Level of evidence: IIa

High-throughput RNA sequencing of paraformaldehyde-fixed single cells

Single-cell transcriptomic studies that require intracellular protein staining, rare cell sorting, or inactivation of infectious pathogens are severely limited. This is because current high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing methods are either incompatible with or necessitate laborious sample preprocessing for paraformaldehyde treatment, a common tissue and cell fixation and preservation technique. Here we present FD-seq (Fixed Droplet RNA sequencing), a high-throughput method for droplet-based RNA sequencing of paraformaldehyde-fixed, permeabilized and sorted single cells. We show that FD-seq preserves the RNA integrity and relative gene expression levels after fixation and permeabilization. Furthermore, FD-seq can detect a higher number of genes and transcripts than methanol fixation. We first apply FD-seq to analyze a rare subpopulation of cells supporting lytic reactivation of the human tumor virus KSHV, and identify TMEM119 as a potential host factor that mediates viral reactivation. Second, we find that infection with the human betacoronavirus OC43 leads to upregulation of pro-inflammatory pathways in cells that are exposed to the virus but fail to express high levels of viral genes. FD-seq thus enables integrating phenotypic with transcriptomic information in rare cell subpopulations, and preserving and inactivating pathogenic samples.