mteb/CovidQA huggingface dataset:
To examine the influence of glycyrrhizin on virus progeny, A549 cells were infected with the H5N1 influenza strain A/ Thailand/1(Kan-1)/04 at MOI 0.01 or MOI 1 and infectious virus titres were determined 24 h post infection ( Figure 1C ). While glycyrrhizin in concentrations up to 50 mg/ml did not affect H5N1 replication, moderate effects were exerted by glycyrrhizin 100 mg/ ml and more pronounced effects by glycyrrhizin 200 mg/ml (MOI 0.01: 13-fold reduction, MOI 1: 10-fold reduction). Next, influence of glycyrrhizin on H5N1 replication was confirmed by the detection of viral (H5) RNA using quantitative PCR. Only glycyrrhizin concentrations $100 mg/ml significantly reduced Figure 1B) or H5N1 A/Vietnam/1203/04-infected (Suppl. Figure 1C ) A549 cells (MOI 0.01) 24 h post infection.
Time-of-addition experiments revealed that maximal effects were achieved when glycyrrhizin was continuously present starting with a 1 h pre-incubation period ( Figure 1D ). Addition of glycyrrhizin post infection showed reduced antiviral effects while pre-incubation alone or glycyrrhizin addition during the adsorption period did not significantly affect H5N1 replication.
For investigation of H5N1-induced cytokine expression, five pro-inflammatory genes were chosen that had been correlated to severity of influenza disease: CXCL10 (also known as interferon-cinducible protein 10, IP-10), interleukin 6 (IL6), interleukin 8, (IL8; also known as CXCL8), CCL2 (also known as monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, MCP-1), and CCL5 (also known as RANTES). A549 cells were infected with H5N1 A/Thailand/ 1(Kan-1)/04 or H5N1 A/Vietnam/1203/04 at MOI 0.01, 0.1, or 1. Glycyrrhizin treatment was performed with 25, 50, 100, or 200 mg/ml. Cytokine expression was detected 24 h post infection by ELISA. Glycyrrhizin did not affect cytokine expression of noninfected cells (data not shown) but inhibited expression of all cytokines investigated in H5N1-infected cells in a dose-dependent manner (Figure 2, Figure 3A ). Effects were more pronounced at lower MOIs. Notably, expression of all cytokines except IL8 was significantly inhibited after treatment with glycyrrhizin 50 mg/ml
Figure 3A ) although these glycyrrhizin concentrations had no effect on H5N1 replication in A549 cells (Figure 1, Figure S1 ).
Cytokine expression by influenza A virus-infected respiratory cells causes recruitment of peripheral blood monocytes into the lungs of patients where they differentiate to macrophages which are thought to contribute to influenza A virus pathogenicity [5, 39] . In a chemotaxis assay, the influence of glycyrrhizin was investigated on migration of monocytes towards supernatants of H5N1 A/Thailand/1(Kan-1)/04 (MOI 0.1)-infected A549 cells through 8 mm filters. Monocyte migration towards supernatants of H5N1-infected cells was strongly increased relative to migration towards supernatants of non-infected cells. Treatment of H5N1- infected cells with glycyrrhizin 100 mg/ml clearly suppressed chemoattraction activity of supernatants ( Figure 3B ).
Influenza viruses including H5N1 have been shown to induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in airway cells and this apoptosis has been correlated to the virus pathogenicity [40, 41] . Glycyrrhizin concentrations up to 200 mg/ml did not affect caspase activation in non-infected cells ( Figure 4A-C) . Glycyrrhizin concentrations $100 mg/ml inhibited H5N1 A/Thailand/1(Kan-1)/04 (MOI 0.01)-induced activation of the initiator caspases 8 and 9 as well as of the effector caspases 3/7 in A549 cells as determined 24 h post infection ( Figure 4A-C) . Lower glycyrrhizin concentrations did not affect H5N1-induced apoptosis. The detection of cells in sub-G1 phase resulted in similar findings ( Figure 4D ).
Substances that inhibit H5N1-induced caspase 3 activation including caspase 3 inhibitors cause nuclear retention of RNP complexes [34, 42] . In accordance, glycyrrhizin also interfered with nuclear export RNP at MOI 1 ( Figure S2 ). Similar results were obtained in MOI 0.01 H5N1 A/Thailand/1(Kan-1)/04infected cells ( Figure S3 ).

Influence of glycyrrhizin on H5N1-induced activation of nuclear factor kB (NFkB), p38, and on H5N1-induced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation Activation of NFkB, p38, and JNK have been associated with influenza A virus replication and virus-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression [34, [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] . While glycyrrhizin did not influence NFkB activity in non-infected A549 cells in the tested concentra-tions (data not shown), glycyrrhizin inhibited NFkB activation in H5N1-infected cells ( Figure 5A ). Moreover, glycyrrhizin inhibited H5N1-induced phosphorylation of the MAPKs p38 and JNK ( Figure 5B ).
In addition to their roles during influenza A virus replication and virus-induced cytokine/chemokine expression, NFkB, p38, and JNK are constituents of redox-sensitive signalling pathways [48] [49] [50] [51] . Antioxidants had been already found to interfere with influenza A virus-induced signalling through NFkB, p38, and JNK, with influenza A virus replication, and with influenza A virus-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression [32] [33] [34] . Since glycyrrhizin is known to exert antioxidative effects [26] we speculated that glycyrrhizin may interfere with H5N1-induced ROS formation. Indeed glycyrrhizin exerted clear antioxidative effects in H5N1 (MOI 0.01)-infected cells ( Figure 5C ) causing significant reduction of ROS formation already at a concentration of 25 mg/ml ( Figure 5D ).
Here, we show that glycyrrhizin inhibits the replication of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus, H5N1-induced apoptosis, and H5N1-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lung-derived A549 cells. After intravenous administration, achievable plasma concentrations of glycyrrhizin have been described to be about 100 mg/ml [52] . Therefore, the glycyrrhizin concentrations found to interfere with H5N1 replication and H5N1-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression in the present report are in the range of therapeutic plasma levels. Notably, although higher glycyrrhizin concentrations were needed to interfere with SARS coronavirus replication [22] than with H5N1 replication, beneficial results were reported in glycyrrhizin (SNMC)-treated SARS patients in comparison to SARS patients who did not receive glycyrrhizin [23] . Notably, investigation of different glycyrrhizin derivatives against SARS coronavirus led to the identification of compounds with enhanced antiviral activity
[53] . Therefore, glycyrrhizin might also serve as lead structure for the development of novel anti-influenza drugs.
Experimental results suggested that glycyrrhizin might be able to affect seasonal influenza A virus disease by antiviral and immunomodulatory effects [26, 27] . Mice were prevented from lethal H2N2 infection by glycyrrhizin although no influence on virus replication was detected. The mechanism was suggested to be induction of interferon-c in T-cells by glycyrrhizin [54] . Moreover, glycyrrhizin was shown to influence seasonal influenza A virus replication through interaction with the cell membrane [25, 28] . However, these effects were observed only in concentrations $200 mg/ml when glycyrrhizin was added during the virus adsorption period. Since glycyrrhizin addition during the adsorption period did not influence H5N1 replication in our experiments it appears not likely that membrane effects contribute to anti-H5N1 effects detected here in lower concentrations.
Our results rather suggest that glycyrrhizin interferes with H5N1-induced oxidative stress. Influenza A virus (including H5N1) infection induces ROS formation. Antioxidants were found to inhibit influenza A virus replication and influenza A virus-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression [32] [33] [34] and glycyrrhizin is known to exert antioxidative effects [26] . Here, glycyrrhizin interfered with H5N1-induced activation of NFkB, p38, and JNK representing redox-sensitive signalling events [48] [49] [50] [51] involved in influenza A virus replication and influenza A virusinduced cellular cytokine/chemokine production [34, [43] [44] [45] [46] 55] . Glycyrrhizin 50 mg/ml significantly reduced H5N1-induced activation of NFkB. In addition, glycyrrhizin concentrations as low as 25 mg/ml effectively interfered with H5N1-induced ROS formation and with phosphorylation of the redox-sensitive MAPKs p38 and JNK. In our model, activation of p38 appears to be critical for H5N1-associated redox
signalling since p38 inhibition had been shown before to mimick effects of the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) [34] . Interestingly and in contrast to glycyrrhizin, NAC failed to inhibit H5N1 replication or H5N1-induced cytokine/chemokine expression in therapeutically relevant concentrations.
Glycyrrhizin diminished H5N1-induced cellular cytokine/ chemokine production in concentrations (#50 mg/ml) that did not interfere with H5N1 replication although redox-sensitive signalling pathways have been described to be involved in both processes. Therefore, H5N1-induced proinflammatory gene expression appears to be more sensitive to inhibition of ROS formation than H5N1 replication. Indeed, influenza viruses had been shown to induce cellular pathways through replicationdependent and -independent events [56] . In a previous report, we could show that similar glycyrrhizin concentrations like those investigated here interfered with H5N1-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression but not with H5N1 replication in human monocyte-derived macrophages [57] . In addition, other immunomodulatory treatment regimens that did not influence H5N1 replication reduced mortality in H5N1-infected mice [31, 58] . Therefore, glycyrrhizin represents a potential additional treatment option that interfers
with both H5N1 replication and H5N1induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lung cells.
Interference with immune responses may also result in the loss of control of virus replication by cytotoxic immune cells including natural killer cells and cytotoxic CD8 + T-lymphocytes. Global immunosuppressants like corticosteroids failed to protect from lethal influenza virus infection [59] . Moreover, antiviral drugs may interfere with cytotoxic cells that control virus replication as demonstrated for ribavirin that was shown to hamper NK cell cytolytic activity [60] . In this context, glycyrrhizin had already been shown not to affect natural killer cell activity in the concentrations used here [57] .
In conclusion, we show in this report that therapeutic concentrations of glycyrrhizin (used as clinically approved parenteral preparation SNMC) interfere with highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus replication and H5N1-induced proinflammatory gene expression at least in part through interference with H5N1-induced ROS formation and in turn reduced activation of p38, JNK, and NFkB in lung cells. Since we used the clinical formulation SNMC effects of other ingredients like glycin or cystein cannot be excluded. Vaccines and antiviral agents will fail to meet global needs at least at the beginning of a severe influenza A virus pandemic [61] . Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents are considered to be important candidates as constituents of anti-influenza treatment strategies that may save lives in an influenza pandemic situation [61] . Therefore, glycyrrhizin may complement the arsenal of potential drugs for the treatment of H5N1-caused disease.
Emergent severe acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by adenovirus type 55 in immunocompetent adults in 2013: a prospective observational study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4243941/

SHA: f5b706d0529bfcf7e2d1dfc037df5b6f95fc5ec0

Authors: Sun, Bing; He, Hangyong; Wang, Zheng; Qu, Jiuxin; Li, Xuyan; Ban, Chengjun; Wan, Jun; Cao, Bin; Tong, Zhaohui; Wang, Chen
Date: 2014-08-12
DOI: 10.1186/s13054-014-0456-6
License: cc-by
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Since 2008, severe cases of emerging human adenovirus type 55 (HAdV-55) in immunocompetent adults have been reported sporadically in China. The clinical features and outcomes of the most critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by HAdV-55 requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are lacking. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, single-center observational study of pneumonia with ARDS in immunocompetent adults admitted to our respiratory ICU. We prospectively collected and analyzed clinical, laboratory, radiological characteristics, sequential tests of viral load in respiratory tract and blood, treatments and outcomes. RESULTS: The results for a total of five consecutive patients with severe ARDS with confirmed HAdV-55 infection were included. All five patients were immunocompetent young men with a median age of 32 years. The mean time from onset to dyspnea was
5 days. Arterial blood gas analysis at ICU admission revealed profound hypoxia. Mean partial oxygen pressure/fraction of inspired oxygen was 58.1. Mean durations from onset to a single-lobe consolidation shown on chest X-rays (CXRs) and, from the first positive CXR to bilateral multilobar lung infiltrates, were 2 days and 4.8 days, respectively. The viral load was higher than 1 × 10(8) copies in three patients and was 1 × 10(4) in one patient. It was negative in the only patient who survived. The mean duration for noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) failure and IMV failure were 30.8 hours and 6.2 days, respectively. Four patients received venovenous ECMO. Four (80%) of the five patients died despite receiving appropriate respiratory support. CONCLUSIONS: HAdV-55 may cause severe ARDS in immunocompetent young men. Persistent high fever, dyspnea and rapid progression to respiratory failure within 2 weeks, together with bilateral consolidations and infiltrates, are the most
frequent clinical manifestations of HAdV-55-induced severe ARDS. Viral load monitoring may help predict disease severity and outcome. The NPPV and IMV failure rates were very high, but ECMO may still be the respiratory support therapy of choice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01585922. Registered 20 April 2012
Text: Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are notorious pathogens in people with compromised immune function and a frequent cause of outbreaks of acute respiratory disease among young children. Life-threatening adenoviral pneumonia has previously been documented among military trainees, patients with AIDS and transplant recipients [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Human adenovirus type 55 (HAdV-55), which is emerging as a highly virulent pathogen for acute fatal adenoviral pneumonia among immunocompetent adults in China, has gained increasing attention [6] . HAdV-55 is a newly identified, emergent acute respiratory disease pathogen causing two recent outbreaks in China in 2006 [7] and in Singapore in 2005 [8] . In 2011, this pathogen apparently re-emerged in Beijing, China, causing several cases of severe community-acquired pneumonia [9] . This pathogen was fully characterized by whole-genome sequencing [10] . Comparative studies showed that the ability of HAdV to cause severe disease may relate to the
serotypes of HAdVs. Severe adenoviral pneumonia induced by HAdV-55 has been reported to be more closely related to severe cases compared to other serotypes (HAdV-3, HAdV-7 and HAdV-14) [6] .
Current knowledge of HAdV-55-induced severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in immunocompetent adults is derived from single case reports or relatively small, single-center series. As a result, little information is available on HAdV-55 pneumonia complicated with severe ARDS, the frequency of which is expected to increase in the coming years. Here we describe the clinical features and outcomes of five prospective cases of HAdV-55 pneumonia complicated with severe ARDS in immunocompetent adults in our ICU.
Beginning in May 2012, a randomized trial of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in ARDS patients was carried out in our center (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01585922). From May 2012 to April 2014, all adult patients with ARDS caused by pneumonia who were admitted to the respiratory ICU of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital were prospectively enrolled. Severe ARDS was diagnosed according to the Berlin definition: (1) developing within 1 week of a known clinical insult or new or worsening respiratory symptoms; (2) bilateral opacities not fully explained by effusions, lobar and/or lung collapse, or nodules; (3) respiratory failure not fully explained by cardiac failure or fluid overload; (4) partial oxygen pressure/ fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO 2 /FiO 2 ) ≤100 mmHg with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ≥5 cmH 2 O; and (5) a chest radiograph with three or four quadrants with opacities. Patients with HAdV-55 infection and severe ARDS who failed conventional NPPV and invasive
mechanical ventilation (IMV) were included in the analysis. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital (LLKYPJ2012031). Data were analyzed anonymously. Each patient gave written informed consent for their data to be used for research and publication.
Clinical information collected by investigators with a standardized data form included the following: demographic characteristics (age and sex), comorbidities, clinical symptoms (fever, cough, sputum, dyspnea, chest pain, rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and headache), signs (body temperature, heart rate, respiratory frequency, blood pressure and crackles in the lungs), laboratory tests (whole-blood cell count and blood chemistry) and microbiological findings and images of the lung (chest X-ray (CXR) and computed tomography). Concomitant medications, respiratory support, complications and outcomes were also recorded.
Patients' specimens, including sputum, whole blood and serum samples, were collected upon admission and during hospitalization. Microbiological tests were performed at the Department of Infectious Disease and Clinical Microbiology in our center, and the detection methods used were described in our previous report [6] . Common viruses causing respiratory illness were screened using a kit with 15 different viral assays. Serum samples were used for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila antibodies. All patients had their HAdV-55 infection confirmed by RT-PCR assay. Partial sequences of the hexon gene were analyzed to type the phylogeny of HAdV-55 strains. The adenoviral load was also performed on both respiratory specimens and blood by multiplex RT-PCR assay.

Viral pneumonia was diagnosed based on the presence of HAdV detected in sputum or throat swab samples by molecular methods.
Continuous variables were summarized as mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median (interquartile range).

During the study period, a total of eight patients diagnosed with HAdV infection and respiratory failure were admitted to our ICU, and seven of them received a diagnosis of ARDS. Five consecutive patients with severe ARDS with confirmed HAdV-55 infection were admitted to our ICU between April and July 2013. They were included in the analysis. The other two patients had mild ARDS and were infected with other types of HAdVs.
All five patients were immunocompetent young men with a median age of 32 years (range, 28 to 40 years). All of the patients shared a B blood type and came from the same city: Baoding city, Hebei province, northern China. All patients had no exposure to farm animals, corn or hay. Patient 3 had tuberculosis pleuritis and received antituberculosis therapy at ICU admission. His blood tests, including the T-SPOT tuberculosis assay (Oxford Immunotec, Marlborough, MA, USA) and antibody of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, were negative.
Flulike symptoms, such as fever, cough and little sputum, were commonly observed at the onset of illness. All patients presented with a high fever, with a mean body temperature of 39.5°C (range, 39.0°C to 40.0°C), which persisted for 8 days (range, 6 to 11 days). Productive cough was observed in two patients. Dull substernal chest pain and rash were also observed in two patients. All patients had dyspnea. The mean time from onset to dyspnea was 5 days (range, 1 to 10 days). After the onset of dyspnea, patients usually progressed to respiratory failure or hypoxemia. The mean time from onset to ICU admission was 9.6 days (range, 8 to 11 days) ( Table 1) . All patients had tachypnea when admitted to the ICU, with a mean rate of 43 breaths per minute (range = 38 to 52). Arterial blood gas analysis at ICU admission revealed profound hypoxia, with a mean PaO 2 /FiO 2 of 58.1 (range = 49 to 62.5). White blood cell counts were low or in the normal range. All patients had elevated serum
aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH) ( Table 1) . At admission, all patients' levels of immunoglobulin (serum immunoglobulins G and M) and components C3 and C4 were in the normal range.
Four patients had lower than normal T-cell subset counts (Table 2) .

CXRs revealed multiple bilateral lobar or segment consolidation in the lungs of all five patients, and radiographic lesions progressed rapidly after ICU admission ( Figure 1 ). Three patients were examined by highresolution computed tomography (HRCT). Unilateral or bilateral consolidations and infiltrates were found on HRCT scans of all three of these patients. Consolidations within a single lobe or several lobes with a clear border and air bronchogram were the most common findings on HRCT scans. Nodules, patches, pleural effusion, abscess and a cavity were also seen visualized by HRCT (Figure 2 ). The mean duration from onset to a single-lobe consolidation on CXRs was 2 days (range = 1 to 5 days). The mean duration from the first positive CXR to bilaterally multilobar lung infiltrates was 4.8 days (range = 4 to 7 days).
All patients had HAdV-55 viremia. In four of the five patients, it was first detected in endotracheal aspirate (ETA) samples. The time between initial ETA sample collection of adenoviruses and positive results for HAdV-55 nucleic acid in the blood was 1 to 10 days (Table 3) . Virus DNA copies in ETAs were determined for all patients during their ICU stay. The viral load was higher than 1 × 10 8 copies in three patients and 1 × 10 4 in one patient. The viral load became negative in the only patient who survived. In the four patients who did not survive, DNA copies did not decrease, even with antiviral therapy (Figure 3 ).
Oxygenation was not maintained with conventional NPPV or IMV support in any of the patients. The mean duration until NPPV failure was 30.8 hours (range = 22 to 48 hours), and the mean time until IMV failure was 6.2 days (range 2 = to 13 days) ( Table 1) . Four patients received venovenous ECMO to maintain oxygen saturation, and one patient refused ECMO support and received high-frequency oscillatory ventilation instead. Table 4 gives the oxygenation data of patients before and after venovenous ECMO support.
All patients received antiviral therapy, including acyclovir (10 mg/kg, every 8 hours, intravenous drip), ganciclovir (5 mg/kg, every 12 hours, intravenous drip) and ribavirin (250 mg, twice daily, intravenous drip). Considering that bacterial coinfection may combine with a severe viral infection, broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics were given to all patients. Tests for bacterial pathogens were negative for only one patient (Table 3) . Four (80%) of the five patients died. Among the four patients receiving venovenous ECMO, only one patient survived. The other four patients died due to ARDS, Aspergillus fumigatus coinfection, septic shock and catheter-related bloodstream infection due to Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively.