98%
921
2 minutes
20
SARS-CoV-2 and its emerging variants of concern remain a major threat for global health. Here we introduce an infection model based upon polarized human Alveolar Epithelial Lentivirus immortalized (hAELVi) cells grown at the air-liquid interface to estimate replication and epidemic potential of respiratory viruses in the human lower respiratory tract. hAELVI cultures are highly permissive for different human coronaviruses and seasonal influenza A virus and upregulate various mediators following virus infection. Our analysis revealed a significantly reduced capacity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants to propagate in this human model compared to earlier D614G and Delta variants, which extends early risk assessments from epidemiological and animal studies suggesting a reduced pathogenicity of Omicron.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9610361 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04068-3 | DOI Listing |
PLoS One
September 2025
Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Background: Reinfections with SARS-CoV-2 have gained increasing relevance in the context of emerging immune-evasive variants and waning population immunity. Understanding their frequency and distribution is essential to guide public health strategies, particularly in middle-income countries. This study investigates the epidemiological patterns of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in Espírito Santo, Brazil, using integrated notification and vaccination databases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Glob Public Health
September 2025
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) - Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP), Kilifi, Kenya.
Background: Between November 2023 and March 2024, coastal Kenya experienced another wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections detected through our continued genomic surveillance. Herein, we report the clinical and genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections from 179 individuals (a total of 185 positive samples) residing in the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS) area (~ 900 km).
Methods: We analyzed genetic, clinical, and epidemiological data from SARS-CoV-2 positive cases across pediatric inpatient, health facility outpatient, and homestead community surveillance platforms.
EMBO J
September 2025
New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Microbiology Department, New York, NY, USA.
Serine protease inhibitors (SERPINs) are involved in various physiological processes and diseases, such as inflammation, cancer metastasis, and neurodegeneration. Their role in viral infections is poorly understood, as their expression patterns during infection and the range of proteases they target have yet to be fully characterized. Here, we show widespread expression of human SERPINs in response to respiratory virus infections, both in bronchioalveolar lavages from COVID-19 patients and in polarized human airway epithelial cultures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
September 2025
The Permanente Medical Group, Pleasanton, California, United States of America.
Background: Research on Post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC) has focused on the prevalence of symptoms, leaving gaps in our understanding of predictors of health care seeking.
Objective: To identify clinical and sociodemographic characteristics associated with PASC care seeking.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of adult patients with COVID-19 diagnosis between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 in a community-based comprehensive health care delivery system at 21 hospitals and medical clinics in Northern California.
Pediatr Infect Dis J
September 2025
From the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Background: Obesity was a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in children during early outbreaks of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant. However, the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity during the Omicron wave remains unclear.
Methods: This multicenter, observational study included polymerase chain r eaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected children and adolescents from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States hospitalized between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.