Longitudinal characteristics of lymphocyte responses and cytokine profiles in the peripheral blood of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, EBioMedicine (2020), doi: https://doi.Abstract Background: The dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines profiles of patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and their correlation with the disease severity remain unclear. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were longitudinally collected from 40 confirmed COVID-19 patients and examined for lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry and cytokine profiles by specific immunoassays. Findings: Of the 40 COVID-19 patients enrolled, 13 severe cases showed significant and sustained decreases in lymphocyte counts [0·6 (0·6-0·8)] but increases in neutrophil counts [4·7 (3·6-5·8)] than 27 mild cases [1.1 (0·8-1·4); 2·0 (1·5-2·9)].Further analysis demonstrated significant decreases in the counts of T cells, especially CD8 + T cells, as well as increases in IL-6, IL-10, IL-2 and IFN-γ levels in the peripheral blood in the severe cases compared to those in the mild cases. T cell counts and cytokine levels in severe COVID-19 patients who survived the disease gradually recovered at later time points to levels that were comparable to those of the mild cases.Moreover, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (AUC=0·93) and neutrophil-to-CD8 + T cell ratio (N8R) (AUC =0·94) were identified as powerful prognostic factors affecting the prognosis for severe COVID-19.Interpretation: The degree of lymphopenia and a proinflammatory cytokine storm is higher in severe COVID-19 patients than in mild cases, and is associated with the disease severity. N8R and NLR may serve as a useful prognostic factor for early 4 identification of severe COVID-19 cases.

Longitudinal characteristics of lymphocyte responses and cytokine profiles in the peripheral blood of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, EBioMedicine (2020), doi:

Background: The dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines profiles of patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and their correlation with the disease severity remain unclear. Method: Peripheral blood samples were longitudinally collected from 40 confirmed COVID-19 patients and examined for lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry and cytokine profiles by specific immunoassays. Findings: Of the 40 COVID-19 patients enrolled, 13 severe cases showed significant and sustained decreases in lymphocyte counts but increases in neutrophil counts than 27 mild cases. Further analysis demonstrated significant decreases in the counts of T cells, especially CD8 + T cells, as well as increases in IL-6, IL-10, IL-2 and IFN-γ levels in the peripheral blood in the severe cases compared to those in the mild cases. T cell counts and cytokine levels in severe COVID-19 patients who survived the disease gradually recovered at later time points to levels that were comparable to those of the mild cases. Moreover, the neutrophil-to-CD8+ T cell ratio (N8R) were identified as the most powerful prognostic factor affecting the prognosis for severe COVID-19. Conclusion: The degree of lymphopenia and a proinflammatory cytokine storm is higher in severe COVID-19 patients than in mild cases, and is associated with the disease severity. N8R may serve as a useful prognostic factor for early identification of severe COVID-19 cases.

SummarySorghum prolamins, termed kafirins, are categorized into subgroups a, b, and c. The kafirins are co-translationally translocated to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where they are assembled into discrete protein bodies that tend to be poorly digestible with low functionality in food and feed applications. As a means to address the issues surrounding functionality and digestibility in sorghum, we employed a biotechnology approach that is designed to alter protein body structure, with the concomitant synthesis of a co-protein in the endosperm fraction of the grain. Wherein perturbation of protein body architecture may provide a route to impact digestibility by reducing disulphide bonds about the periphery of the body, while synthesis of a co-protein, with known functionality attributes, theoretically could impact structure of the protein body through direct association and ⁄ or augment end-use applications of sorghum flour by stabilizing ß-sheet formation of the kafirins in sorghum dough preparations. This in turn may improve viscoelasticity of sorghum dough. To this end, we report here on the molecular and phenotypic characterizations of transgenic sorghum events that are downregulated in c-and the 29-kDa a-kafirins and the expression of a wheat Dy10 ⁄ Dx 5 hybrid high-molecular weight glutenin protein. The results demonstrate that down-regulation of c-kafirin alone does not alter protein body formation or impacts protein digestibility of cooked flour samples. However, reduction in accumulation of a predicted 29-kDa a-kafirin alters the morphology of protein body and enhances protein digestibility in both raw and cooked samples.