Background Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, many COVID-19 variants have emerged, causing several waves of pandemics and many infections. Long COVID-19, or long-term sequelae after recovery from COVID-19, has aroused worldwide concern because it reduces patient quality of life after rehabilitation. We aimed to characterize the functional differential profile of the oral and gut microbiomes and serum metabolites in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms associated with long COVID-19. Methods We prospectively collected oral, fecal, and serum samples from 983 antibiotic-naïve patients with mild COVID-19 and performed a 3-month follow-up postdischarge. Forty-five fecal and saliva samples, and 25 paired serum samples were collected from patients with gastrointestinal symptoms of long COVID-19 at follow-up and from healthy controls, respectively. Eight fecal and saliva samples were collected without gastrointestinal symptoms of long COVID-19 at follow-up. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples and 2bRAD-M sequencing of saliva samples were performed on these paired samples. Two published COVID-19 gut microbiota cohorts were analyzed for comparison. Paired serum samples were analyzed using widely targeted metabolomics. Results Mild COVID-19 patients without gastrointestinal symptoms of long COVID-19 showed little difference in the gut and oral microbiota during hospitalization and at follow-up from healthy controls. The baseline and 3-month samples collected from patients with gastrointestinal symptoms associated with long COVID-19 showed significant differences, and ectopic colonization of the oral cavity by gut microbes including 27 common differentially abundant genera in the Proteobacteria phylum, was observed at the 3-month timepoint. Some of these bacteria, including Neisseria, Lautropia, and Agrobacterium, were highly related to differentially expressed serum metabolites with potential toxicity, such as 4-chlorophenylacetic acid, 5-sulfoxymethylfurfural, and estradiol valerate. Conclusions Our study characterized the changes in and correlations between the oral and gut microbiomes and serum metabolites in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms associated with long COVID-19. Additionally, our findings reveal that ectopically colonized bacteria from the gut to the oral cavity could exist in long COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, with a strong correlation to some potential harmful metabolites in serum.
Background and aim:At the initial stage of the fight against COVID-19, a large number of medical staff and materials were dispatched to Wuhan City and Hubei Province to contain the outbreak quickly and effectively.The national infection prevention and control strategy posed a challenge to the physical and psychological resilience of frontline healthcare workers(HCWs) outside the central epidemic area.This study aims to survey frontline HCWs outside the central epidemic area in China to understand their levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression during the initial stage of the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: From February 11 to February14, 2020, an online survey was conducted in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province using snowball sampling techniques. The survey consisted of two parts, namely, demographic data and psychological screening. Demographic information included gender, age, hospital classification, working department, profession type, and working experience. Perceived stress was assessed by Chinese simple Perceived Stress Scale 10, general anxiety was assessed by the General Anxiety Disorder Scale, and depression was evaluated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.Results: A total of 1,315 frontline HCWs were included,of which 646(49.1%) reported a moderate to severe stress(scores≥14), 141(10.7%) reported moderatetosevere anxiety (score≥10), and164(12.4%) reported a major depression (score≥10). Female gender was significantly associated with high levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression (P<0.05), and working time was negatively correlated with the level of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression (P<0.05). Statistical difference was observed in perceived stress score among different age groups, levels of hospital group,and working departments (P<0.05).Conclusion:During the initial stage of the fight against COVID-19in China, more than half of the frontline HCWs outside the central epidemic area rated perceived stress as moderatetosevere, and nearly 23% of them reported moderatetosevere anxiety or depression.Female gender, low hospital level, and emergency department were associated with a high level of perceived stress.
BackgroundIncreasing evidence confirms that long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) has a vital impact on the procession of cervical cancer (CC). The present study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of LINC01089 in CC, as well as explore its biological functions and potential molecular mechanisms.MethodsA quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) was utilized to investigate the expression of LINC01089 and miR‐27a‐3p in CC cells and tissues. Analysis of the correlation between the expression level of LINC01089 and the clinical pathological parameters of CC was then conducted. The human CC cell lines HeLa and SiHa were utilized for transfection to establish a gain‐of‐function model and loss‐of‐function models. Western blotting and a qRT‐PCR were performed to detect B‐cell translocation gene‐2 (BTG2) expression in CC cells. Cell counting kit (CCK)‐8 and 5‐bromo‐2‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) assays were performed to detect the proliferation of CC cells. The transwell method was employed to evaluate the migration and invasion of CC cells. The interactions between LINC01089 and miR‐27a‐3p were verified by bioinformatics, a dual luciferase reporter gene experiment and a RNA immunoprecipitation experiment, respectively.ResultsThe expression of LINC01089 in CC was markedly down‐regulated. The low expression of LINC01089 in CC was closely associated with a larger tumor size and positive lymph node metastasis. Moreover, overexpression of LINC01089 impeded the proliferation and metastasis of CC cells, whereas knockdown of LINC01089 had the opposite biological functions. In terms of mechanism, LINC01089 could sponge miR‐27a‐3p and indirectly up‐regulate BTG2 expression.ConclusionsLINC01089, as a tumor suppressor, impedes the development of CC by targeting miR‐27a‐3p to up‐regulate BTG2 expression.
Background: Ischemic stroke is a common cause of death and disability throughout the world. We aimed to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in TBXA2R (rs4523, rs768963, rs1131882), P2Y12 (rs204693), ADD1 (rs4961) and risk of ischemic stroke. Methods: A comprehensive retrieval with the databases of Pubmed, Embase, CENTRAL, CNKI and Wan fang data was conducted. The deadline was February 1, 2019. Pooled ORs and 95% CIs were calculated by using the Z-test. Heterogeneity between the included studies was tested using the I2 method. Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s linear regression were used to evaluate the publication bias. Software STATA 12.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) was used for the meta-analysis and 26 studies with 5,776 cases and 8,025 controls were included. Results: The results indicated significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke associated with TBXA2R variant rs768963 in all genetic models (C vs T: OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.13-1.42, P
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