1- Monday Antimicrobial Resistance News – 13th December

1 – Omicron possibly more infectious because it shares genetic code with common cold coronavirus, study says

• The omicron variant is likely to have picked up genetic material from another virus that causes the common cold in humans, according to a new preliminary study, prompting one of its authors to suggest omicron could have greater transmissibility but lower virulence than other variants of the coronavirus.
• The “striking” similarity between omicron and HCoV-229E could have made the former “more accustomed to human hosts” and likely to evade some immune system responses, said Venky Soundararajan, a biological engineer who co-wrote the study.

Source: Washington Post

2 – Combination Therapy With Tocilizumab and Dexamethasone Cost-Effectively Reduces Coronavirus Disease 2019 Mortality

• Although compelling observational data suggested that interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors such tocilizumab and sarilumab reduce mortality and morbidity associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2), this effect was not seen in early randomized clinical trials
• Recently, 2 large randomized controlled trials demonstrated a meaningful mortality benefit. The number needed to treat to prevent mortality was 12 and 16, respectively, in the REMAP-CAP and RECOVERY studies.
• IL-6 inhibitors are now recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19 by the UK COVID-19 guidelines as well as the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
• To inform use of IL-6 inhibitors, they developed a decision tree model to investigate the cost-effectiveness of adding tocilizumab to dexamethasone for severe COVID-19.

Source: Oxford Academic

3 – The Effect of Buprenorphine on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viral Suppression

• Opioid use is prevalent among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) and adversely affects HIV outcomes.
• They assessed the effect of buprenorphine (BUP) initiation on subsequent HIV viral loads.
• The results indicate that the initiation of BUP results in an increase in the probability of being virally suppressed after accounting for both measured and unmeasured confounders.
• Persons with opioid use disorder should initiate BUP to not only treat substance use but also to increase viral suppression allowing for treatment as prevention.

Source: Oxford Academic

4- Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants and Human Coronaviruses After Single BNT162b2 Vaccination

• Vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies are key in combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
• However, delays of boost immunization due to limited availability of vaccines may leave individuals vulnerable to infection and prolonged or severe disease courses.
• The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC)—B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom), B.1.351 (South Africa), and P.1 (Brazil)—may exacerbate this issue, as the latter two are able to evade control by antibodies.
• Despite readily detectable immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein at day 14 after a single vaccination, inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 S-driven host cell entry was weak and particularly low for the B.1.351 variant.
• Frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 WT and VOC-specific T cells were low in many vaccinees after application of a single dose and influenced by immunity against endemic hCoV.
• The second vaccination significantly boosted T-cell frequencies reactive for WT and B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants.

Source: Oxford Academic

5 – Age-dependent Immune Response to the Biontech/Pfizer BNT162b2 Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination

• The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has led to the development of various vaccines.
• Real-life data on immune responses elicited in the most vulnerable group of vaccinees older than age 80 years old are still underrepresented despite the prioritization of the elderly in vaccination campaigns.
• The data showed differences between the antibody responses raised after the first and second BNT162b2 vaccination, in particular lower frequencies of neutralizing antibodies in the elderly group.
• This suggests that this population needs to be closely monitored and may require earlier revaccination and/or an increased vaccine dose to ensure stronger long-lasting immunity and protection against infection.

Source: Oxford Academic

6 – Vaccinated and Convalescent Donor–Derived Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2–Specific T Cells as Adoptive Immunotherapy for High-Risk Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients

• The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic poses an urgent need for the development of effective therapies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
• Overall, this study provides evidence on risk stratification of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the feasibility of generating powerful CoV-2-ST products from both convalescent and vaccinated donors as an “off-the shelf” T-cell immunotherapy for high-risk patients.

Source: Oxford Academic

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