Malnutrition as a potential predictor of mortality in chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: Malnutrition, a significant problem in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), is linked to lower health-related quality of life, longer and more frequent hospital admissions, worse functional capacity, and higher levels of morbidity. However, the extent of its impact on mortality is poorly elucidated. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the impact of malnutrition on mortality among CKD patients on dialysis.

Incident Use of Hydroxychloroquine for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: We studied whether the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for COVID-19 resulted in supply shortages for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We used US claims data (IQVIA PHARMETRICS® Plus for Academics [PHARMETRICS]) and hospital electronic records from Spain (Institut Municipal d'Assistència Sanitària Information System [IMASIS]) to estimate monthly rates of HCQ use between January 2019 and March 2022, in the general population and in patients with RA and SLE. Methotrexate (MTX) use was estimated as a control.

Mapping of molecular interactions between human E3 ligase TRIM69 and Dengue virus NS3 protease using hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

Tripartite motif (TRIM) E3 ligases target specific substrates, including viral proteins, for proteasomal degradation, and are thus essential regulators of the innate antiviral response. TRIM69 ubiquitinates the non-structural NS3 protein of Dengue virus for its degradation by the host machinery. This antiviral strategy abrogates the immunosuppression mediated by the NS2B-NS3 protease complex.

Sequence preference and scaffolding requirement for the inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by ecotin peptide.

Human neutrophil elastase (hNE) is an abundant serine protease that is a major constituent of lung elastolytic activity. However, when secreted in excess, if not properly attenuated by selective inhibitor proteins, it can have detrimental effects on host tissues, leading to chronic lung inflammation and non-small cell lung cancer. To improve upon the design of inhibitors against hNE for therapeutic applications, here, we report the crystal structure of hNE in complex with an ecotin (ET)-derived peptide inhibitor.

Siglecs as Therapeutic Targets in Cancer.

Hypersialylation is a common post-translational modification of protein and lipids found on cancer cell surfaces, which participate in cell-cell interactions and in the regulation of immune responses. Sialic acids are a family of nine-carbon α-keto acids found at the outermost ends of glycans attached to cell surfaces. Given their locations on cell surfaces, tumor cells aberrantly overexpress sialic acids, which are recognized by Siglec receptors found on immune cells to mediate broad immunomodulatory signaling.