Volume 226, Issue 5, 1 September 2022

Our matched cohort study from the pre-COVID-19 vaccination period showed that COVID-19 infection risk was lower in persons with Down syndrome compared with persons without Down syndrome, but the risk of severe COVID-19 disease was higher.

Our findings reveal that complement overactivation is mediated by the classical pathway in response to increased levels of circulating immune complexes and support the notion that an overexuberant immunoglobulin G response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and seasonal coronaviruses contributes to coronavirus disease 2019 severity.

Levels of soluble TNFR1 and TNFR2 were different according to the genotype of TNFRSF1Brs1061622, TNFrs1800629, and rs361525 in patients with COVID-19. Higher soluble TNF, TNFR1, and TNFR2 levels were detected in patients with a more severe disease.

From 2000 swab samples with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 detected by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, we comparatively analyzed subgenomic RNA kinetics, identifying a diagnostic RNA threshold (5.1 log₁₀copies/mL) that is independently correlated with detectable subgenomic RNA.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 hospitalization is lower for solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients compared with immunocompetent people and those with other immunocompromising conditions. Among SOT recipients, 3 vaccine doses lead to substantially greater protection than 2.

COVID-19 cases with the AY.4.2 sublineage of the delta variant had lower or similar risks of hospital admission, hospital admission or emergency care attendance, and COVID-19 mortality compared to cases with other delta variant sublineages.

Mechanisms leading to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 nucleocapsid protein is present in high concentrations in the urine of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, concentrations associated with COVID-19 severity.

Antiviral antibody at hospitalization was more mature for children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children than severe COVID-19, suggesting a longer time since infection. In both groups, proportions of B cells in circulation decreased while production of virus-specific antibody-secreting cells continued for weeks.

Here we identify the first HLA-A*01:01–restricted Epstein-Barr virus Latent Membrane Protein 2 (EBV-LMP2)–specific T-cell population and show that these T-cell populations and T cells modified to express the LMP2-specific T-cell receptor showed IFN-γ secretion and cytotoxicity toward EBV-LMP2–expressing malignant cell lines.

Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) detected in Pakistan and Afghanistan showed strict antigenic stability across the viral protein 1 gene. Contemporary WPV1 strains were completely neutralized by oral poliovirus vaccine–derived antibodies, used across both countries to achieve poliomyelitis eradication.

Fecal shedding of 2 novel oral poliovirus type 2 vaccine (OPV2) candidates and Sabin mOPV2 was assessed in bOPV/inactivated polio vaccine–immunized infants. Shedding of both candidates was similar or lower in quantity and duration compared with mOPV2. All 3 vaccines induced intestinal immunity.

This article reports a high prevalence of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) in the general adult population in The Gambia, and shows that OBI is a risk factor for advanced liver disease accounting for more than 12% of cases.

In a large census-based community serosurvey in Blantyre, Malawi adult HBsAg prevalence was 5.1%, and 0.3% among vaccine-eligible children. Estimated vaccine impact was 95.8% (95% CI, 70.3%–99.4%). Up to 9% of HBsAg-positive adults had an unmet need for antiviral treatment.

High level of serum HBV RNA, a surrogate marker of intrahepatic cccDNA, is associated with increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B patients receiving nucleos(t)ide analogues. Achieving undetectable HBV RNA could be a valuable endpoint of antiviral treatment.

In this study, we demonstrated in culture and in patients that HBV could be edited by APOBEC3C_S188I. This enzyme led to an enhanced editing activity in a more specific 5ʹTpCpA→5ʹTpTpA context. This constitutes a new hallmark of APOBEC3C_S188I.

Among patients with chronic hepatitis B in 4 US health care organizations, the incidence of several nonliver cancers (gastric, neuroendocrine, cholangiocarcinoma, ovarian, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) was substantially higher compared with the US population.

Analyzing the bioenergetics profiles of oxygen consumption together with mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial mass in HIV⁺compared to HIV^–natural killer (NK) cells, we identified mitochondrial dysfunction as a mechanism that might contribute to impaired NK cell function in HIV infection.

Cervicovaginal cytokines were significantly elevated in women randomized to Cu-IUD 6 months after insertion, but not with DMPA-IM or LNG-implant use. However, these elevated cytokines in Cu-IUD users were not significantly associated with increased HIV risk.

In this study, we highlight the utility of a multiplex amplicon sequencing panel for characterizing parasite diversity in malaria asymptomatic infections. We also emphasize the usefulness of this assay in the surveillance of antimalarial drug resistance.

In this cohort study, plasma matrix metalloproteinase 8 was increased in sputum culture–positive participants at tuberculosis diagnosis and after 6 months of tuberculosis treatment, demonstrating its potential as a biomarker of sputum culture positivity, to enhance tuberculosis treatment monitoring.