Commentary:Herpes simplex virus and SLE: though uncommon yet with significant implicationsNaim Mahroum1, Abdulrahman Elsalti1, Yehuda Shoenfeld21International School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey.2Zabludowicz Center for autoimmune diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel.Running title : Commentary: Herpes simplex virus and SLE: though uncommon yet with significant implicationsKeywords – Autoimmunity, infection and autoimmunity, systemic lupus erythematosus, human herpes viruses, herpes simplex virus

SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19 pandemic and continues to pose a threat to global public health through genetic mutation. In this study, we have found that an ACE2-specific monoclonal antibody at low concentration was able to greatly enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection and growth in cell culture. Strikingly, it promotes SARS-CoV-2 plaque formation, resulting in accurate titration of different SARS-CoV-2 variants, particularly the newly emerged Omicron variants, which otherwise cannot be determined by standard plaque assays. Quantification of infectious titers of the newly emerged variants will facilitate the development and evaluation of vaccines and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2.

Early in the 2022 Mpox (MPX) global outbreak, caseloads in the New York Metropolitan area climbed rapidly before other US urban areas. This case series summarizes the authors’ clinical experience detecting and treating MPX, during a quickly evolving outbreak. Clinical outcomes were recorded with a focus on varied clinical presentation and outcomes such as complications and response to experimental tecovirimat therapy. A focal or multifocal rash was the most common presenting symptom in 91% of patients. Almost two thirds (62%) of patients had anogenital involvement. Proctitis was one of the most painful presentations with 75% requiring antiviral treatment and 3 patients needing hospitalization for pain management. Most patients responded promptly to antiviral treatment with tecovirimat. Five out of 10 patients treated with tecovirimat reported symptom resolution within 48 – 72 hours of therapy and another 3 saw resolution within first 96 hours. Two patients had poor response to tecovirimat. This series includes the only reported case of an HIV positive, immunocompetent patient who experienced recurrent anal ulcers due to Mpox and required a second course of tecovirimat. Other unique presentations included urethritis, abscess formation and MPX infection post-vaccination. Control of this current Mpox outbreak was possible due to timely diagnosis and the availability of both a licensed vaccine and an investigational drug.

A group of viruses, collectively known as Pteropine orthoreoviruses (PRVs), have recently been found in fruit bats and humans in Southeast Asia, Australia, and some African countries. This article intends to briefly discuss what is known about these viruses and their potential significance in public health and to advocate for increased surveillance of these zoonotic viruses to prevent potential future disease outbreaks, as well as to highlight a recent publication on this topic that was selected as an editor’s choice article in the Journal of Medical Virology 1.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can lead to diverse clinical manifestations and pathologies that involve multiple organs. Even though the disease severity is manifested mainly in the respiratory tract, which is the primary target of SARS-CoV-2 infection, acute kidney injury in the form of acute tubular necrosis has also been noted in some COVID-19 cases. It is not entirely clear whether renal cells can be infected by the virus that might be involved in acute kidney disorder. In a recent publication by Radovic and colleagues (1) that has been selected as the editor’s choice paper published in the Journal of Medical Virology, the authors provided strong histopathological and immunofluorescence evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and tissue injury of renal parenchymal and tubular epithelial cells, which strongly suggest an active viral replication in the kidney of some severe and fatal COVID-19 cases, and to a lesser extent, a potential role for innate immune cells in viral infection and renal disease pathogenesis.

1. A survey on the recent COVID-19 epidemic in China was conducted. 2. The epidemic likely made over 85% of people in China sick in December 2022. 3. The epidemic likely ended in early January 2023. 4. The epidemic had the features of spreading more rapidly and widely and having a higher symptomatic rate than previously thought. 5. The above features could lead to many severe cases and deaths due to the shortages of medical resources. 6. The above features greatly enhanced the population immunity in China, which will accelerate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the emergence of risky variants of SARS-CoV-2 in China.

Background: Since early May 2022, outbreaks of Monkeypox (Mpox) cases have emerged and become a global concern. Studies exploring the gastrointestinal (GI) and/or liver manifestations of Mpox are still very limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to summarize the GI manifestations reported by Mpox patients. Methods: We searched for Mpox studies published until October 21, 2022, in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and organization websites. Mpox studies were observational studies that reported at least one of either GI and/or liver manifestations. Meta-analysis was done to obtain the pooled prevalence of GI manifestations in Mpox patients. The quality of included studies was assessed using the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. Results: Overall, 31 studies that reported GI and/or liver manifestations in Mpox patients were included. The five most commonly reported GI manifestations by studies were abdominal pain, anorexia, diarrhea, nausea and/or vomiting, and proctitis. There is a lack of reporting for liver manifestations. The most prevalent GI manifestations in Mpox patients were anorexia (47%; 95%CI 41-53%), followed by nausea and/or vomiting (12%; 95%CI 11-13%), proctitis (11%; 95%CI 11-12%), abdominal pain (9%; 95%CI 8-10%), and diarrhea (5%; 95%CI 4-6%). Conclusion: Anorexia was the most frequently reported GI manifestation in Mpox patients, followed by nausea and/or vomiting, proctitis, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The presentation of proctitis during the ongoing Mpox outbreak highly suggests a potential for Mpox diagnosis.

Background: We assessed whether the association between the risk of cerebrospinal fluid escape (CVE) and specific antiretroviral (ARV) classes, such as protease inhibitors, is due to suboptimal pharmacological profile generated by archived resistance-associated mutations (RAMs). Methods: A retrospective multicentric study on 300 adult people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and available historical plasma genotype resistance testing (HGRT) for reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease genes between 2001 and 2021. The odds ratio for demographic, clinic-, and ART-related variables and CVE was estimated by multivariable modelling. HGRT-adjusted central nervous system effectiveness penetration (CPE) score was computed in modelling the risk. Results: Median age, plasma VL, and CD4 count were 49 years, <50 copies/mL, and 310 cells/μL. CVE was detected in 51 participants (17.0%). No difference in CVE prevalence was observed according to ART type, number of ARVs or ARV classes. Participants with CVE had more frequently plasma (52.9% vs 32.1%, p=0.005) and CSF RAMs in RT (n=63, 57.1% vs 28.6%, p=0.029), but not in protease gene. The presence of plasma RAMs in RT associated with increased odds of CVE in adjusted analyses (aOR 3.9, p<0.001) and in models restricted to plasma viral load ≤50 copies/mL (n=202; aOR 4.3 , p=0.003). CVE risk decreased by 40% per each point increase in HGRT-adjusted CPE score in multivariable models (p<0.001). Conclusions: Viruses harboring mutations appear to favor CVE and the impact of single ARV classes or type of ART regimens may lose significance when adjusted for the presence and effect of specific RAMs.

Background: Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors 2DL4 ( KIR2DL4) and the human leukocyte antigen class I-G ( HLA-G) display vital parts in immune responses against HCV infection. We select four potentially functional SNPs of KIR/HLA to explore the associations between KIR2DL4/HLA-G genetic variants and HCV infection results. Methods: In the present case-control investigation, KIR2DL4-rs660773， KIR2DL4-rs660437， HLA-G-rs9380142, and HLA-G-rs1707 SNPs were sorted as genotype in a total of 2225 high-risk subjects, involving 1778 paid blood donors and 447 drug users. The SNPs were functionally annotated using bioinformatics analysis. Results: Following adjusting by age, sex, ALT, AST, IFNL4-rs12979860, IFNL4-rs8099917, and the infection route, the logistic regression analysis (LRA) discovered that KIR2DL4-rs660773 and HLA-G-rs9380142 were correlated with vulnerability to HCV infection (all P <0.05). In a locus-dosage way, compared with subjects carrying the rs9380142-AA or rs660773-AA genotypes, subjects with rs9380142-AG or rs660773-AG/GG (all P <0.05) were more vulnerable to HCV infection; the overall impact of their risk genotypes (rs9380142-AGrs660773-AG/GG) was correlated with an elevated incidence of HCV infection ( Ptrend<0.001). In the Haplotype analysis, patients with haplotype AG were more likely to contract HCV compared to those with the highest common AA haplotype ( P= 0.002) were higher in susceptibility to infect HCV.nThe SNPinfo web server estimated that rs660773 is a transcription factor binding site (TFBS), whereas rs9380142 is a potential microRNA-binding site. Conclusion: In the Chinese high-risk population, KIR2DL4 rs660773 and HLA-G rs9380142 polymorphisms are related to HCV susceptibility .