TMPRSS2 as a Key Player in Viral Pathogenesis: Influenza and Coronaviruses.

TMPRSS2, a human transmembrane protease enzyme, plays a crucial role in the spread of certain viruses, including influenza and coronaviruses. This enzyme promotes viral infection by cleaving viral glycoproteins, which helps viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A enter cells more effectively. Genetic differences in TMPRSS2 may affect people's susceptibility to COVID-19, underscoring the need for studies that consider diverse populations.

Fetal Hemoglobin as a Predictive Biomarker for Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study in Portugal.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of vision impairment in preterm infants, with its pathogenesis linked to oxygen exposure. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, commonly performed in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), reduce fetal hemoglobin (HbF) fraction, altering oxygen dynamics and potentially contributing to ROP. We aimed to investigate the relationship between RBC transfusions, HbF percentage, and ROP, evaluating HbF as a potential predictive biomarker.

Detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in wastewater samples: a wake-up call, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, 2024.

In 2024, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected in wastewater samples in Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). All strains were genetically linked, but sequence analysis showed high genetic diversity among the strains identified within individual wastewater sites and countries and an unexpected high genetic proximity among isolates from different countries. Taken together these results, with sequential samples having tested positive in various sites, a broader geographic distribution beyond positive sampling sites must be considered.

Assessing Metabolic Ageing via DNA Methylation Surrogate Markers: A Multicohort Study in Britain, Ireland and the USA.

Metabolomics and epigenomics have been used to develop 'ageing clocks' that assess biological age and identify 'accelerated ageing'. While metabolites are subject to short-term variation, DNA methylation (DNAm) may capture longer-term metabolic changes. We aimed to develop a hybrid DNAm-metabolic clock using DNAm as metabolite surrogates ('DNAm-metabolites') for age prediction.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing as a prognosis-assessing tool in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Aims: Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction represent half of the heart failure patients nowadays, an at least steady trend due to the aging of the population. We investigated whether the parameters obtained from cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) correlated with the prognosis of these patients. This prospective observational cohort study assesses the relationship between the CPET parameters peakVO and VE/VCO slope and the number of heart failure hospitalizations or cardiovascular death of these patients.