Background: Since December 2019, the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first spread quickly in Wuhan, China, then globally. From previously published evidence, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, are both pivotal entry molecules that enable cellular infection by SARS-CoV-2. Meanwhile, increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or a "cytokine storm," is associated with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome that is often observed in critically ill patients. Methods: We investigated the expression pattern of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in major organs in the human body, especially under specific disease conditions. Multiple sequence alignment of ACE2 in different species was used to explain animal susceptibility. Moreover, the cell-specific expression patterns of ACE2 and cytokine receptors in the urinary tract were assessed using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Additional biological relevance was determined through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) using an ACE2 specific signature. Results: Our results revealed that ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were highly expressed in genitourinary organs. ACE2 was highly and significantly expressed in the kidney among individuals with chronic kidney diseases or diabetic nephropathy. In single cells, ACE2 was primarily enriched in gametocytes in the testis, and renal proximal tubules. The receptors for pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially IL6ST, were remarkably concentrated in endothelial cells, macrophages, and spermatogonial stem cells in the testis, and renal endothelial cells, which suggested the occurrence of alternative damaging mechanisms via autoimmune attacks. Conclusions: This study provided new insights into the pathogenicity mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 that underlie the clinical manifestations observed in the human testis and kidney. These observations might substantially facilitate the development of effective treatments for this rapidly spreading disease.

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Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which leads to acute respiratory infection symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 infection is not always limited to the respiratory tract, and renal infection and dysfunction have been shown to be specific risk factors for death. There is growing evidence that corona viruses may also invade the genitourinary system, causing urological symptoms. In this review, we discuss the influence of SARS-CoV-2 on the urogenital system and the possibility of urinary tract transmission. In addition, several studies have revealed that COVID-19 has a higher incidence, severity and mortality in men than women. This disparity is due to biological rather than comorbid or behavioral sex differences. Because the male reproductive system is unique, the function of sex hormones in COVID-19 infection may explain the differences between males and females. Understanding these factors will provide appropriate prevention measures and adequate triage strategies and guide the drug discovery process.

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This study analyzed the current status, hotspots, and emerging trends of global research on cognitive frailty, in order to provide new research ideas for researchers. Articles and reviews related to cognitive frailty, published from 2013 to 2021, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database on 26 November 2021. CiteSpace 5.8.R3 was employed for data analyses. A total of 2077 publications were included. There has been a rapid growth of publications on cognitive frailty research since 2016. The United States, Italy, England, and Australia have been the leading research centers of cognitive frailty; however, China has also recently focused on this topic. The National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, and Shimada H. were found to be the most prolific institution and author, respectively. Co-citation analysis identified 16 clusters, of which the largest was cognitive frailty. The keywords which occurred most frequently were “older adult”, followed by “cognitive impairment”, “frailty”, “risk”, “dementia”, “prevalence”, “mortality”, “health”, and “Alzheimer’s disease”. Burst keyword detection revealed a rising interest in cognitive frailty models. By analyzing these publications from recent years, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of cognitive frailty research.

ObjectiveTo explore the interaction effect between overweight/obesity and alcohol consumption on hypertension risk.DesignA longitudinal study of the independent and combined effects of hypertension risk factors.SettingTwelve provinces in China, including Beijing Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Chongqing.ParticipantsLongitudinal data of China Health and Nutrition Survey, collected between 2011 and 2015, were used in this study. A total of 13 121 residents from 12 provinces were included and completed physical examinations and questionnaires at baseline.OutcomeFirst incidence of hypertension.ResultsOver a mean follow-up of 4 years, 690 incident hypertension cases were reported. After adjusting for age, gender, education level, marital status, physical activity, diabetes and smoking, high body mass index (BMI) and light drinking (OR=5.07, 95% CI 3.06 to 8.41), high waist circumference (WC) and light drinking (OR=4.81, 95% CI 2.92 to 7.91), high waist hip ratio and light drinking (OR=2.85, 95% CI 1.84 to 4.42) were the highest risk of all participants in the three combinations. Multiplicative interaction measures were statistically significant in overweight/obesity and drinking/light drinking/heavy drinking categories in men (p<0.05). Additive interactions were observed between high BMI and drinking in men (relative excess risk due to interaction=1.75, 95% CI 0.85 to 2.65, attributable proportion due to interaction=0.56, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.76, synergy index=6.43, 95% CI 1.02 to 28.84).ConclusionsMeasures of body weight and size, particularly BMI and WC, appear to interact synergistically with alcohol consumption to increase the risk of hypertension in the Chinese population. Given that approximately 245 million people in China have hypertension, and that hypertension is a major cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide, our results may have implications for chronic disease prevention.

Background: Extensive research has revealed that genes play a pivotal role in tumor development and growth. However, the underlying involvement of gene expression in gastric carcinoma (GC) remains to be investigated further.Methods: In this study, we identified overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by comparing tumor tissue with adjacent normal tissue using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.Results: Our analysis identified 79 up-regulated and ten down-regulated genes. Functional enrichment analysis and prognosis analysis were conducted on the identified genes, and the fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH) gene, ALDH3A2, was chosen for more detailed analysis. We performed Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and immunocorrelation analysis (infiltration, copy number alterations, and checkpoints) to elucidate the mechanisms of action of ALDH3A2 in depth. The immunohistochemical (IHC) result based on 140 paraffin-embedded human GC samples indicated that ALDH3A2 was over-expressed in low-grade GC cases and the OS of patients with low expression of ALDH3A2 was significantly shorter than those with high ALDH3A2 expression. In vitro results indicated that the expression of ALDH3A2 was negatively correlated with PDCD1, PDCD1LG2, and CTLA-4.Conclusion: We conclude that ALDH3A2 might be useful as a potential reference value for the relief and immunotherapy of GC, and also as an independent predictive marker for the prognosis of GC.