A liposome-displayed hemagglutinin vaccine platform protects mice and ferrets from heterologous influenza virus challenge.

Recombinant influenza virus vaccines based on hemagglutinin (HA) hold the potential to accelerate production timelines and improve efficacy relative to traditional egg-based platforms. Here, we assess a vaccine adjuvant system comprised of immunogenic liposomes that spontaneously convert soluble antigens into a particle format, displayed on the bilayer surface. When trimeric H3 HA was presented on liposomes, antigen delivery to macrophages was improved in vitro, and strong functional antibody responses were induced following intramuscular immunization of mice.

EULAR recommendations for intra-articular therapies.

Objectives: To establish evidence-based recommendations to guide health professionals using intra-articular therapies (IAT) in adult patients with peripheral arthropathies.

Methods: A multidisciplinary international task force established the objectives, users and scope and the need for background information, including systematic literature reviews) and two surveys addressed to healthcare providers and patients throughout Europe. The evidence was discussed in a face-to-face meeting, recommendations were formulated and subsequently voted for anonymously in a three-round Delphi process to obtain the final agreement.

MRD Assessment in Multiple Myeloma: Progress and Challenges.

Purpose Of Review: Over the last decade, the development of effective treatment approaches for multiple myeloma (MM) has been associated with higher response rates and longer survival. In patients who achieve complete response, several high sensitivity techniques have been studied to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) and detect residual neoplastic cells within the bone marrow (by flow cytometry or molecular biology techniques) or outside the bone marrow (by imaging or circulating disease markers in the peripheral blood). This is of utmost importance, since residual disease can drive clinical relapse.

Experimental and natural evidence of SARS-CoV-2-infection-induced activation of type I interferon responses.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are our first line of defense against virus infection. Recent studies have suggested the ability of SARS-CoV-2 proteins to inhibit IFN responses. Emerging data also suggest that timing and extent of IFN production is associated with manifestation of COVID-19 severity.

The Nucleolar Protein Nucleophosmin Is Physiologically Secreted by Endothelial Cells in Response to Stress Exerting Proangiogenic Activity Both In Vitro and In Vivo.

Nucleophosmin (NPM), a nucleolar multifunctional phosphoprotein, acts as a stress sensor in different cell types. NPM can be actively secreted by inflammatory cells, however its biology on endothelium remains unexplored. In this study, we show for the first time that NPM is secreted by human vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in the early response to serum deprivation and that NPM acts as a pro-inflammatory and angiogenic molecule both in vitro and in vivo.

Recommendations for the pragmatic use of ultrasound in rheumatoid arthritis by the GEISPER French group.

Objective: To develop recommendations for the appropriate use of ultrasound in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in routine practice based on data from the literature and of experts opinion.

Methods: Based on a systematic literature review, a scientific committee decided on themes and relevant questions to draw up an initial draft of recommendations. These recommendations were submitted to a group of experts in ultrasound in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases using a Delphi method, which produced preliminary recommendations.

Structural damage in rheumatoid arthritis assessed by musculoskeletal ultrasound: A systematic literature review by the Structural Joint Damage Task Force of the OMERACT Ultrasound Working Group.

Objectives: To identify and synthesize the evidence for the use and measurement properties of musculoskeletal ultrasound in assessing structural joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A systematic literature search (SLR) of the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library was performed. Original articles were included published in English reporting on ultrasound of bone erosion, cartilage damage and the measurement properties of ultrasound according to the OMERACT filter 2.

Characterisation of the antifungal effects of a plant-based compound, CIN-102, on the main septal filamentous fungi involved in human pathology.

Objectives: Today, the increase of invasive fungal infections and the emergence of resistant strains are observed in medical practice. New antifungals are expected, and the plant world offers a panel of potentially active molecules. CIN-102 is a mixture of seven different compounds of plant origin developed from the formulation of cinnamon essential oil.

European Myeloma Network perspective on CAR T-Cell therapies for multiple myeloma.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells (CAR-T) have dramatically changed the treatment landscape of B-cell malignancies, providing a potential cure for relapsed/refractory patients. Long-term responses in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non Hodgkin lymphomas have encouraged further development in myeloma. In particular, B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeted CAR-T have established very promising results in heavily pre-treated patients.

Dose/schedule-adjusted Rd-R vs continuous Rd for elderly, intermediate-fit patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) is standard treatment for elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In this randomized phase 3 study, we investigated efficacy and feasibility of dose/schedule-adjusted Rd followed by maintenance at 10 mg per day without dexamethasone (Rd-R) vs continuous Rd in elderly, intermediate-fit newly diagnosed patients with MM. Primary end point was event-free survival (EFS), defined as progression/death from any cause, lenalidomide discontinuation, or hematologic grade 4 or nonhematologic grade 3 to 4 adverse event (AE).

Subcutaneous bortezomib-containing regimens as up-front treatment of newly diagnosed transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients: a retrospective, non-interventional observational study.

Subcutaneous (SC) bortezomib-based regimens represent the standard induction therapy prior to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Published data are based principally on intravenous (IV) administration: this retrospective observational study aimed to define patients' outcomes upon SC bortezomib administration, before and after ASCT. Of 131 enrolled patients, 86% received bortezomib-dexamethasone plus thalidomide (VTD), 5% plus cyclophosphamide (VCD), and 9% alone (VD), for a median of 4 cycles induction therapy, followed by single (52%) or double (48%) ASCT.

Olive Leaf Extract (OLE) impaired vasopressin-induced aquaporin-2 trafficking through the activation of the calcium-sensing receptor.

Vasopressin (AVP) increases water permeability in the renal collecting duct through the regulation of aquaporin-2 (AQP2) trafficking. Several disorders, including hypertension and inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), are associated with abnormalities in water homeostasis. It has been shown that certain phytocompounds are beneficial to human health.

Massive infection of Cystidicoloides ephemeridarum in brown trout Salmo trutta with skeletal deformities.

We investigated the cause of skeletal deformities found in brown trout from the Aspromonte mountain area in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Toxicological, histopathological and parasitological analyses were carried out on 14 fish with evident macro-morphological alterations from 2 different locations in the same river, and 4 control fish without morphological alterations from a different river (far from the first river but still within the area under study). Histopathological and radiological observations confirmed severe skeletal deformities in the specimens investigated.

Measurement properties of radiographic outcome measures in Psoriatic Arthritis: A systematic review from the GRAPPA-OMERACT initiative.

Background: Structural damage is as an important outcome in the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set and its assessment is recommended at least once in the development of a new drug.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review (SR) to identify studies addressing the measurement properties of radiographic outcome instruments for structural damage in PsA and appraise the evidence through the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Filter 2.1 Framework Instrument Selection Algorithm (OFISA).

Collaborating in the Time of COVID-19: The Scope and Scale of Innovative Responses to a Global Pandemic.

The emergence of COVID-19 spurred the formation of myriad teams to tackle every conceivable aspect of the virus and thwart its spread. Enabled by global digital connectedness, collaboration has become a constant theme throughout the pandemic, resulting in the expedition of the scientific process (including vaccine development), rapid consolidation of global outbreak data and statistics, and experimentation with novel partnerships. To document the evolution of these collaborative efforts, the authors collected illustrative examples as the pandemic unfolded, supplemented with publications from the JMIR COVID-19 Special Issue.

EULAR recommendations for the reporting of ultrasound studies in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Objective: To produce European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the reporting of ultrasound studies in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Methods: Based on the literature reviews and expert opinion (through Delphi surveys), a taskforce of 23 members (12 experts in ultrasound in RMDs, 9 in methodology and biostatistics together with a patient research partner and a health professional in rheumatology) developed a checklist of items to be reported in every RMD study using ultrasound. This checklist was further refined by involving a panel of 79 external experts (musculoskeletal imaging experts, methodologists, journal editors), who evaluated its comprehensibility, feasibility and comprehensiveness.

Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy and Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation Outcomes: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the association between findings of blinded reviews of preoperative drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and outcomes of hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Study Design: Cohort study.

Methods: A retrospective, multicenter cohort study of 343 adults who underwent treatment of OSA with HNS from 10 academic medical centers was performed.

A longitudinal analysis of chromosomal abnormalities in disease progression from MGUS/SMM to newly diagnosed and relapsed multiple myeloma.

We analyzed variations in terms of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis on purified bone marrow plasma cells throughout the progression from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance/smoldering multiple myeloma (MGUS/SMM) to newly diagnosed MM/plasma cell leukemia (NDMM/PCL) at diagnosis and from diagnostic samples to progressive disease. High risk was defined by the presence of at least del(17p), t(4;14), and/or t(14;16). 1p/1q detection (in the standard FISH panel from 2012 onward) was not available for all patients.

Insights Into the Binding Mechanism of GC7 to Deoxyhypusine Synthase in : A Thermophilic Model for the Design of New Hypusination Inhibitors.

Translation factor 5A (eIF5A) is one of the most conserved proteins involved in protein synthesis. It plays a key role during the elongation of polypeptide chains, and its activity is critically dependent on hypusination, a post-translational modification of a specific lysine residue through two consecutive enzymatic steps carried out by deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS), with spermidine as substrate, and deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH). It is well-established that eIF5A is overexpressed in several cancer types, and it is involved in various diseases such as HIV-1 infection, malaria, and diabetes; therefore, the development of inhibitors targeting both steps of the hypusination process is considered a promising and challenging therapeutic strategy.

Conventional ultrasound and elastography as imaging outcome tools in autoimmune myositis: A systematic review by the OMERACT ultrasound group.

Aims: To analyze whether there is sufficient data from published literature to demonstrate that ultrasound, including elastography, present good metric properties (truth, discrimination and feasibility) in autoimmune myositis (AIM).

Methods: A population, intervention, comparator and outcome-structured (PICO) search was performed in Medline, Cochrane Library and Embase database from 01/01/1973 to 08/05/2019. The inclusion criteria required original research involving adult humans, reported in English, assessing ultrasound and elastography in patients with an AIM.

The Role of Monoclonal Antibodies in the First-Line Treatment of Transplant-Ineligible Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma.

Elderly transplant-ineligible (NTE) patients represent the majority of patients affected by multiple myeloma (MM). Elderly patients are a highly heterogeneous population, with large variability in health and functional status. Thus, choosing their optimal treatment is challenging.

Antioxidant Efficacy of Olive By-Product Extracts in Human Colon HCT8 Cells.

The production of olive oil is accompanied by the generation of a huge amount of waste and by-products including olive leaves, pomace, and wastewater. The latter represents a relevant environmental issue because they contain certain phytotoxic compounds that may need specific treatments before the expensive disposal. Therefore, reducing waste biomass and valorizing by-products would make olive oil production more sustainable.

COVID-19 in French patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: Clinical features, risk factors and treatment adherence.

Objective: To explore how patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (CIRDs) coped with their disease during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify possible predictive factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this population.

Methods: Patients followed in a single rheumatology department in France or registered on the Spondy+ platform, a secure e-health platform for spondyloarthritis patients, were invited to complete a questionnaire focused on their experiences around COVID19 symptoms, testing and medications access during the lockdown period. Descriptive statistics were used to report questionnaire's results.

Monoclonal Antibodies to Treat Multiple Myeloma: A Dream Come True.

Immunotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are safe and effective ways to elicit immunotherapeutic responses. In 2015, daratumumab has become the first mAb approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in MM and, in the last 5 years, a lot of clinical and preclinical research has been done to optimize the use of this drug class.