German Center for Lung Research (DZL)’s Post

Experimental evidence of another respiratory virus directly infecting neurons, macrophages, and dendritic cells in an in vitro 3D model of infection. The study by researchers of Tulane University shows how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can infect these cells and induces moderate chemokine release with transient neural hypersensitivity. In vitro, infection of dendritic cells could be detected 30 days after infection. RSV is known to cause neurological symptoms in some children, and the virus had been previously detected in the spinal fluid of children with seizures. This new study suggests that RSV can disrupt neuronal function directly through infection of peripheral neurons and indirectly through infection of resident monocytes, and inflammatory chemokines. #RSV #children #infectiousdiseases #pediatric #health #globalhealth #publichealth #medicine #biotechnology #pharmaceuticals #WHO #CDC #neurology

🌟 New Advances in the Management of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) 🌟 🦠 Rubella and MS: New Findings on a Potential Risk Factor A recent study published in the European Journal of Neurology explores a possible link between rubella seropositivity and the risk of developing MS. The findings suggest that natural infection with rubella, particularly in unvaccinated individuals, is associated with a higher risk of MS (adjusted OR = 4.0). Additionally, MS patients showed a stronger antibody response compared to controls. This supports the hypothesis that certain viruses, like rubella, may contribute to MS pathogenesis through molecular mimicry mechanisms. 📑 https://lnkd.in/esWpkKFF 💧 Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Flow and its Link to Peripheral Nerves A groundbreaking discovery reveals that CSF extends beyond the brain and spinal cord, reaching peripheral nerves. This new understanding of CSF flow opens exciting possibilities for targeted therapies for peripheral nerve diseases, potentially transforming the way we approach peripheral nervous system disorders. 📑 https://lnkd.in/esc99Fv4 📊 Biomarkers in MS: The Role of Neurofilament Light Chain (sNFL) Recent studies show that serum neurofilament light chain (sNFL) is a promising biomarker for monitoring MS activity. Elevated sNFL levels correlate with disease progression, particularly in progressive forms of MS. This could allow clinicians to better tailor treatments to monitor inflammation and degeneration in MS patients. 📑 https://lnkd.in/eqShqp99 These discoveries pave the way for innovations in MS treatment and management, potentially improving the quality of life for patients. #MultipleSclerosis #Neurology #Biomarkers #Rubella #Research #Healthcare #Innovation

The shifting lipidomic landscape of blood monocytes and neutrophils during pneumonia. The lipidome of immune cells during infection has remained unexplored, although evidence of the importance of lipids in the context of immunity is mounting. In this study, we performed untargeted lipidomic analysis of blood monocytes and neutrophils from patients hospitalized for pneumonia and age- and sex-matched noninfectious control volunteers. We annotated 521 and 706 lipids in monocytes and neutrophils, respectively, which were normalized to an extensive set of internal standards per lipid class. The cellular lipidomes were profoundly altered in patients, with both common and distinct changes between the cell types. Changes involved every level of the cellular lipidome: differential lipid species, class-wide shifts, and altered saturation patterns. Overall, differential lipids were mainly less abundant in monocytes and more abundant in neutrophils from patients. One month after hospital admission, lipidomic changes were fully resolved in monocytes and partially in neutrophils. Integration of lipidomic and concurrently collected transcriptomic data highlighted altered sphingolipid metabolism in both cell types. Inhibition of ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate synthesis in healthy monocytes and neutrophils resulted in blunted cytokine responses upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. These data reveal major lipidomic remodeling in immune cells during infection, and link the cellular lipidome to immune functionality. Source: JCI Insight https://lnkd.in/epZJet5Q

💡 "The real-life management of glucose homeostasis abnormalities in pediatric onco-hematological diseases: data from a national survey" 💡 By Zanfardino et al. with the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Journal of the Taylor & Francis Group "#Glycemicabnormalities are a frequent finding in #pediatriconcology patients, both during treatment and after its discontinuation. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), impaired fasting #glycemia (IFG) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are not rarely diagnosed in non-oncological/hematological diseases. To explore the current pediatric Italian approach to the diagnosis and the management of the glycemic alterations in this clinical setting, and thus to identify and enforce current clinical needs, we submitted an online 23-item survey to all the Italian AIEOP: Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (#AIEOP) centers, and surveys were descriptively analyzed. 🤔 The results of our study support the standardization of the care of the glycemic abnormalities during or after onco-hematologic diseases in the pediatric age. Despite the scarce data in pediatric literature, proper guidelines are needed." https://lnkd.in/deY9pDH2 #RicercalnnovazioneQualitàdellaVita #clinicialresearch

Our paper on Neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is out in #Frontiers in Neurology, sec. #Neuroepidemiology. Our question was: Is the immunosuppressed status of SOT recipients a protective or a risk factor for neurological complications during the SARS-CoV-2 infection? Our main findings were: frequency of headache was comparable with the same self-reported symptom in the general population, hyposmia/hypogeusia was more frequent in our cohort. Higher level of tacrolimus as well as being on steroids did not result protective against neurological manifestations; neurological symptoms were more frequent in more severe cases of infection. Thank you to all co-authors Federica Avorio, giovanna panarello, Rossella Alduino, giovanna russelli, Pier Giulio Conaldi. #IRCCS ISMETT; #UPMCI; #Neurology

Brain infection by SARS-CoV-2: Lifelong consequences Figure 1. Two routes of brain infection by which SARS-CoV-2 may enter the hypothalamus and infect GnRH neurons. The virus attaches to and enters cells harbouring surface receptors such as ACE2 (black spanner-like symbol) or NRP1 (red cylinder). GnRH neurons exhibit both, which might increase their vulnerability. A. The haematological route, whereby the respiratory virus (white spheres) makes its way through the lungs into the bloodstream (dark red), and thence into the median eminence (ME), a part of the hypothalamus that harbours ”fenestrated” or leaky blood vessels. The virus may affect a number of different cell types locally, including GnRH neurons (green), whose secretory terminals approach the fenestrated vessels, and tanycytes (grey), whose processes control this secretion and also transport other bloodborne hormones and other substances into the brain. Once inside the brain ventricles (V), fluid-filled canals within the brain, the virus can also travel to other areas. B. The olfactory route, whereby the virus enters the olfactory bulb (OB) of the brain directly from the nose across the bony cribriform plate by means of nerve bundles or infected olfactory neurons and other cell types. GnRH neurons, which are born in the nasal epithelium during the embryonic period and migrate into the brain along these nerve bundles to their final positions, still maintain a connection with their birthplace, and could be thus be infected directly or indirectly through olfactory neurons or other cells. GnRH neurons also project to parts of the brain involved in higher functions such as cognition, potentially contributing to long-COVID symptoms such as “brain fog”. The WATCH team, founded to elucidate the role played by specialized brain cells called tanycytes in various physiological processes, has been investigating how and where the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects the brain, and some long-term consequences of this neuro-invasion The European Research Council (ERC) Synergy project WATCH (Well-Aging and the Tanycytic Control of Health) brings together the teams of three principal investigators: Vincent Prevot, a neuroendocrinologist working for the French National Health Research Institute (INSERM) in Lille, France; Markus Schwaninger, a neurologist at the University of Lübeck, Germany; and Ruben Nogueiras, an expert in molecular metabolism at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Together, they are researching how tanycytes – highly specialized cells residing in a tiny part of the brain called the hypothalamus – regulate various physiological processes. Larry Cole - this is a comprehensive study, please click on image below to access it in its entirety.

“Systems immunology approach to long COVID” Systems immunology is a compilation of strategies for measuring a broad range of immunological assays as a powerful way of making the human immune systems more interpretable and understandable as a whole by discovering the relationships between the phenomena, factors, or mechanisms involved in diseases. This is vital for diagnosing and treating long COVID, which, like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), is a multifactorial disease that cannot be diagnosed by a single laboratory test nor treated with a single medication. Long COVID is now recognized as a separate disorder that follows soon after an initial infection with SARS-CoV-2 and may last for an indefinite period, with a wide range of persisting, returning or even new but related symptoms that involve different tissues and organs, including respiratory, cardiac, vascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, endocrine and systemic. Along with this multiplicity of symptoms, there are also several mechanisms that work together to bring about this disease. For more on this abstract or to register for our Fall Conference, visit the link below: https://lnkd.in/dgpPHZRy #LongCovid #MAPS #Immunology #CME #pediatrics #specialneeds #medical

【Urinary retention risk increased after COVID-19 infection】COVID-19 infection affects many extra-respiratory systems, including the urinary system. CU Medicine conducted an analysis using data from around 18,000 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients in the local public healthcare system. Results showed that BPH patients infected with COVID-19 suffer from incidence rates of complications 2.9 to 5.31 times those of patients without COVID-19 infection, among which the relative risk of urinary retention occurrence is the highest, followed by bacteriuria and haematuria. It is worth noting that the study also found no differences in the incidence of complications across different COVID-19 severities. This suggests that even patients with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infection can still be affected urologically and suffer from BPH complications. It is the largest cohort study in the world demonstrating that COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased incidence of BPH complications. Details of the study have been published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Details: https://bit.ly/3Um3Bv2 Full article of the study: https://bit.ly/49c6TVU #CUMedicine #Urology #COVID19 #BPH #Complications

ENDOMETRIOSIS IS LINKED TO AND ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE https://lnkd.in/eVpcDcN9 #endometriosis Studies have shown that having endometriosis may increase the risk of autoimmune diseases such as SLE, Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disorder, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), and Addison's disease. According to the most convincing model of endometriosis, the retrograde menstruation hypothesis, endometrial fragments reach the pelvis via trans tubal retrograde flow, implant onto the peritoneum and abdominal organs, proliferate, and cause chronic inflammation with the formation of adhesions. However, as retrograde menstruation is present in almost all women, and only a proportion of women develop endometriosis, other causes including aberrations in the immune system of endometriosis patients have been proposed. These aberrations may prevent clearance of ectopic endometrial cells, and allow for their implantation, survival, and maintenance outside the uterus. Endometriosis is known to be a hormone dependent chronic inflammatory diseasecharacterized by activation of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Indeed, research conducted during the last two decades have found numerous immunological abnormalities. An increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, a higher concentration of peritoneal macrophages, alterations in B cell activation, and immunological abnormalities in T/B cell function are only few examples of this immunological dysfunction. Also, some genes involved in the immune response were found to be differently expressed in peripheral leukocytes of women with endometriosis (stage III-IV) like other non-gynecologic and chronic inflammatory conditions. Indeed, endometriosis seems to share features characteristic of autoimmune diseases such as an increased presence of autoantibodies. Serum of endometriosis patients contains a high level of anti-macrophage colony stimulating factor antibodies (anti-GM-CSF Ab) which correlates with severity and number of lesions. GM-CSF, which is a hematopoietic growth factor produced by many different cells including endometrial cells, plays a crucial role in linking innate and adaptive immunity. A recent study demonstrated that endometriosis is more aggressive in patients who are also afflicted by autoimmune disturbances after controlling for relevant confounders.  The study concluded that comorbid autoimmune conditions in patients with endometriosis might be considered as a risk factor for stage IV disease.