Immune Response to Locoregional Therapy

The immune response to cancer is an ongoing area of interest and is the focus of newer systemic agents. Liver-directed therapy has been the standard treatment for primary and metastatic disease limited to the liver. It is increasingly being recognized that these therapies may influence a broader systemic response and immune activation. The clinical and translational data supporting this phenomenon are reviewed herein. The findings and potential impact of the immune response to liver-directed therapies are summarized in this article.

Fecal Calprotectin Is Increased in Stroke

Background: While there have been major advances in unveiling the mechanisms comprising the ischemic cascade of CNS, stroke continues to be a significant burden. There is a need to extend the focus toward peripheral changes, and the brain–gut axis has recently gained much attention. Our study aimed to evaluate gut inflammation and its association with blood variables in stroke using fecal calprotectin (FC). Methods: Fecal samples were obtained from 27 stroke patients and 27 control subjects. FC was quantitatively measured using a commercial ELISA. Laboratory data on the fecal sample collection were also collected, including CBC, ESR, glucose, creatinine, total protein, albumin, transaminases, and CRP. Results: There was a significant increase in FC levels in stroke patients compared to the controls. Furthermore, FC in stroke patients was negatively correlated with the Glasgow Coma Scale. Moreover, FC in stroke patients was positively correlated with CRP and negatively correlated with lymphocyte count and albumin. Conclusions: Our findings show that increased FC is associated with consciousness and systemic response in stroke and warrants further studies to elucidate the usefulness of FC in the management of stroke.

A Pilot Study on the 1H-NMR Serum Metabolic Profile of Takotsubo Patients Reveals Systemic Response to Oxidative Stress

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) presents as an acute coronary syndrome characterized by severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and non-obstructive coronary artery disease that typically shows spontaneous recovery within days or weeks. The mechanisms behind TTS are mainly related to beta-adrenergic overstimulation and acute endogenous catecholamine surge, both of which could increase oxidative status that may induce further deterioration of cardiac function. Although several studies reported evidence of inflammation and oxidative stress overload in myocardial tissue of TTS models, systemic biochemical evidence of augmented oxidant activity in patients with TTS is lacking. In this study, serum samples of ten TTS patients and ten controls have been analyzed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The results of this pilot study show a marked alteration in the systemic metabolic profile of TTS patients, mainly characterized by significant elevation of ketone bodies, 2-hydroxybutyrate, acetyl-L-carnitine, and glutamate levels, in contrast with a decrease of several amino acid levels. The overall metabolic fingerprint reflects a systemic response to oxidative stress caused by the stressor that triggered the syndrome’s onset.

Systemic Response: Developing a Strategic Response to Support Young Men of Color during COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this work is to provide insight into the California State University Young Men of Color Consortium (CSU YMOC), which was created to explore the unique challenges young men of color face during their postsecondary experiences, as well as advance effective approaches to better support them. Specifically, we focus on CSU Male Success Initiative programs and detail how campus partners worked collaboratively to support men of color during the previous academic year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the ways that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education across the P-16 spectrum, the MSIs were positioned uniquely to support some of the challenges that students endured. Recent reports reveal that the pandemic has exacerbated a number of difficulties, both old and new(er), that men of color experience in their college years, from accessing and transitioning to matriculating and persisting in higher education. We provide an overview of the CSU YMOC Consortium and present details about one program element (Critical Conversations) we incorporated this year as a measure to be responsive to challenges brought on by the pandemic. Finally, partners at three institutions share reflections on how their MSI shifted their efforts to meet students’ needs and provide support.

At the Root of Nodule Organogenesis: Conserved Regulatory Pathways Recruited by Rhizobia

The interaction between legume plants and soil bacteria rhizobia results in the formation of new organs on the plant roots, symbiotic nodules, where rhizobia fix atmospheric nitrogen. Symbiotic nodules represent a perfect model to trace how the pre-existing regulatory pathways have been recruited and modified to control the development of evolutionary “new” organs. In particular, genes involved in the early stages of lateral root development have been co-opted to regulate nodule development. Other regulatory pathways, including the players of the KNOX-cytokinin module, the homologues of the miR172-AP2 module, and the players of the systemic response to nutrient availability, have also been recruited to a unique regulatory program effectively governing symbiotic nodule development. The role of the NIN transcription factor in the recruitment of such regulatory modules to nodulation is discussed in more details.

Heart Rate in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Prevalence of High Values at Discharge and Relationship with Disease Severity

The most common arrhythmia associated with COronaVIrus-related Disease (COVID) infection is sinus tachycardia. It is not known if high Heart Rate (HR) in COVID is simply a marker of higher systemic response to sepsis or if its persistence could be related to a long-term autonomic dysfunction. The aim of our work is to assess the prevalence of elevated HR at discharge in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and to evaluate the variables associated with it. We enrolled 697 cases of SARS-CoV2 infection admitted in our hospital after February 21 and discharged within 23 July 2020. We collected data on clinical history, vital signs, laboratory tests and pharmacological treatment. Severe disease was defined as the need for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and/or mechanical ventilation. Median age was 59 years (first-third quartile 49, 74), and male was the prevalent gender (60.1%). 84.6% of the subjects showed a SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia, and 13.2% resulted in a severe disease. Mean HR at admission was 90 ± 18 bpm with a mean decrease of 10 bpm to discharge. Only 5.5% of subjects presented HR > 100 bpm at discharge. Significant predictors of discharge HR at multiple linear model were admission HR (mean increase = β = 0.17 per bpm, 95% CI 0.11; 0.22, p < 0.001), haemoglobin (β = −0.64 per g/dL, 95% CI −1.19; −0.09, p = 0.023) and severe disease (β = 8.42, 95% CI 5.39; 11.45, p < 0.001). High HR at discharge in COVID-19 patients is not such a frequent consequence, but when it occurs it seems strongly related to a severe course of the disease.

Heterogeneity in the Response of Different Subtypes of Drosophila melanogaster Midgut Cells to Viral Infections

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) offers the possibility to monitor both host and pathogens transcriptomes at the cellular level. Here, public scRNA-seq datasets from Drosophila melanogaster midgut cells were used to compare the differences in replication strategy and cellular responses between two fly picorna-like viruses, Thika virus (TV) and D. melanogaster Nora virus (DMelNV). TV exhibited lower levels of viral RNA accumulation but infected a higher number of cells compared to DMelNV. In both cases, viral RNA accumulation varied according to cell subtype. The cellular heat shock response to TV and DMelNV infection was cell-subtype- and virus-specific. Disruption of bottleneck genes at later stages of infection in the systemic response, as well as of translation-related genes in the cellular response to DMelNV in two cell subtypes, may affect the virus replication.