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Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron has demonstrated decreased pathogenicity, yet a few individuals suffer severe pneumonia from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection; the underlying mechanisms are unknown.
Methods: The present work investigated the role of Interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in the occurrence and progression of severe Omicron infection. The expression and dynamic changes of ISGs were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the anti-ISG15 autoantibody in infected patients was detected by ELISA. Moreover, we evaluated the correlation of ISGs with disease severity and outcomes by comparing expression of ISGs among each group.
Results: Decreased expression of several ISGs such as IFI6 are potentially linked to increased severity or poor outcomes of Omicron infection. Longitudinal data also demonstrates that the dynamic variation of IFI6 in the Omicron infection phase may be linked to the prognosis of the disease. The increase of anti-ISG15 autoantibody potentially links to the disease progression and poor outcome of patients with high level of ISG15 expression.
Conclusions: These findings define aberrant Interferon-stimulated gene associated host responses and reveal potential mechanisms and therapeutic targets for Omicron or other viral infection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12985-025-02696-9 | DOI Listing |
BMC 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.
JCI Insight
September 2025
Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, Cambridge, United States of America.
Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has evolved subvariants since the emergence of the omicron variant in 2021. Whether these changes impact viral shedding and transmissibility is not known.
Methods: POSITIVES is a prospective longitudinal cohort of individuals with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection.