Jinxiu Li

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, December 2019, and continuously poses a serious threat to public health. Our previous study has shown that cytokine storm occurred during SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the detailed role of cytokines in the disease severity and progression remained unclear due to the limited case number. In this study, we examined 48 cytokines in the plasma samples from 53 COVID-19 cases, among whom 34 were severe cases, and the others moderate. Results showed that 14 cytokines were significantly elevated upon admission in COVID-19 cases. Moreover, IP-10, MCP-3, and IL-1ra were significantly higher in severe cases, and highly associated with the PaO 2 /FaO 2 and Murray score. Furthermore, the three cytokines were independent predictors for the progression of COVID-19, and the combination of IP-10, MCP-3 and IL-1ra showed the biggest area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) calculations. Serial detection of IP-10, MCP-3 and IL-1ra in 14 severe cases showed that the continuous high levels of these cytokines were associated with disease deterioration and fatal outcome. In conclusion, we report biomarkers that closely associated with disease severity and outcome of COVID-19. These findings add to our understanding of the immunopathologic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, providing novel therapeutic targets and strategy.

Beginning at early December 2019, there is an outbreak of a novel 2019-nCoV in

Insufficient angiogenesis in the chronic wound of the diabetic is one of the most important causes that making the wound unable to heal itself. In this work, a cobalt-based metal–organic framework (ZIF-67) was introduced as a carrier for loading a pro-angiogenic small molecular drug (dimethyloxalylglycine, DMOG). To achieve a long-term angiogenic therapy on the diabetic wound beds, a dual cooperative controllable release system has been designed by incorporating the drug-loaded ZIF-67 nanoparticles into the micro-patterned PLLA/Gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds. The results showed that DMOG was incorporated into ZIF-67 with a high loading ratio (359.12 mg/g), and the drug-loaded ZIF-67 nanoparticles were well embedded in the circular patterned scaffold. Notably, the DMOG as well as Co ions could continuously release from the scaffold for more than 15 days. The in vitro studies showed that the released Co ions and DMOG from the micropatterned nanofibrous scaffolds could synergistically promote the proliferation, migration and tube formation of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by inducing a hypoxia response and upregulating the expression of angiogenesis-related genes such as HIF-1α, VEGF and e-NOS. Furthermore, the in vivo results demonstrated that the composite scaffolds could significantly enhance angiogenesis, collagen deposition and eliminate inflammation in the diabetes wounds. These results indicate that the cobalt-based metal–organic framework as a dual cooperative controllable release system provides a new strategy for enhancing angiogenesis and promoting diabetic wound healing.