Objective: The objective of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of variant clusters and their relevance across Africa, America, Europe, and Asia, in order to understand the evolutionary patterns of the virus across different regions and to inform the development of targeted interventions and genomic surveillance eforts. Methods: The study analyzed the global lineage evolution pattern of 74, 075 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from 32 countries across four continents, focusing on variant clusters and their relevance across regions. Variants were weighted according to their hierarchical level. The correlation between variants was visualized through Dimensionality reduction analysis and Pairwise Pearson's correlation. We presented a reconstructed phylogenetic tree based on correlation analysis and variant weights. Results: The analysis revealed that each continent had distinct variant clusters and different evolutionary patterns. The Americas had two clustered variants before lineage divergence and a downstream confluence lineage, Europe had bifurcation into two global lineages with an early occurrence of certain cluster while Asia had a downstream confluence of two large lineages diverging by two distinct clusters. Based on the cluster patterns of shared variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Africa demonstrated a relatively clear distinction among three distinct regions. Conclusions: The study provides insights into the evolutionary patterns of SARS-CoV-2 and highlights the importance of international collaboration in tracking and responding to emerging variants. The study found that the global pandemic was driven by Omicron variants that evolved with significant differences between countries and regions, and with different patterns across continents.

Background: Advanced liver fibrosis is the most important prognostic factor in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5), is associated with the inhibition of liver fibrogenesis, and its levels are decreased in cirrhotic liver. Methods: We analyzed 51 patients with NAFLD, the diagnosis of which was confirmed by liver biopsy. Expression of GAS5 in both the liver and plasma of the patients was analyzed using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction according to the fibrosis stage. Results: Plasma GAS5 expression was significantly higher in patients with advanced fibrosis than in those without. As the fibrosis progressed, GAS5 expression in plasma increased, with the exception of that in cirrhotic livers. Plasma levels of GAS5 were lower in patients with cirrhosis than in those with advanced fibrosis. Conclusion: Elevated circulating levels of the lncRNA GAS5 are associated with the progression of liver fibrosis prior to the development of cirrhosis.

Lim JH, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2021 Jul;36(30):e218. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e218

The worldwide incidence of renal disease diagnosed by a kidney biopsy varies with age, race, sex, and region. Owing to a lack of studies and limited research resources for this disease in Korea, we investigated renal disease patterns by analyzing data from kidney biopsies performed over 13 years in a university-based teaching hospital in Korea. Among 2,053 kidney biopsies performed from 2001 to 2013 at Kyungpook National University Hospital, 1,924 were retrospectively analyzed for histopathologic, demographic, and clinical data as well as laboratory results. Among the 1,924 studied kidney biopsies, 1,078 were males (56.0%) and the mean age was 37.7 ± 16.5 years. Asymptomatic urinary abnormalities were the most common clinical manifestation (62.5%). Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) was the most common primary glomerular disease (37.4%), followed by minimal change disease (MCD), membranous nephropathy (MN), focal segmental glomerulonephritis and crescentic glomerulonephritis. Secondary glomerular diseases accounted for 10.3% of the total biopsies, with lupus nephritis being the most common (4.6%) followed by Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis and diabetic nephropathy. The most common cause of nephrotic syndrome was MCD (42.1%) followed by MN. Among patients seropositive for hepatitis B or C, IgAN (28.3% and 21.4%, respectively) was the most common cause. IgAN and lupus nephritis were the most common primary and secondary glomerular diseases, respectively. Race, region, and practice patterns may affect renal disease patterns in different cohorts.

Se Young Jang, M.D., Won Young Tak, M.D., Soo Young Park, M.D., Young-Oh Kweon, M.D., Yu Rim Lee, M.D., Gyeonghwa Kim, Ph.D., Keun Hur, Ph.D., Man-Hoon Han, M.D., and Won Kee Lee, Ph.D.. Ann Lab Med 2021;41:302-9. https://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2021.41.3.302

BACKGROUND: High-fat diet-induced obesity is one of the major cause of chronic renal failure. This obesity-related renal failure is mainly caused by inflammatory processes. However, the role of the major anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 has not been researched intensively. METHODS: To evaluate the effect of IL-10 deficiency on obesity-related renal failure, the in vivo study was carried with four animal groups; (1) Low-fat dieted C57BL/6 mice, (2) Low-fat dieted IL-10 knockout (KO) mice, (3) High‐fat dieted C57BL/6 mice and (4) High‐fat dieted IL-10 KO mice group. The analysis was carried with blood/urine chemistry, H&E, Oil-Red-O, periodic acid-Schiff and Masson’s trichrome staining immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR methods. RESULTS: At week 12, high‐fat dieted IL-10 KO mice showed 1) severe lipid accumulation in kidneys, cholesterol elevation (in total, serum kidney) and low-density lipoprotein increasion through the SCAP-SREBP2-LDLr pathway; (2) serious histopathologic alterations showing glomerulosclerosis, tubulointerstitial fibrosis and immune cell infiltration; (3) increased pro‐inflammatory cytokines and chemokines expression; (4) enhanced renal fibrosis; and (5) serious functional failure with high serum creatinine and BUN and proteinuria excretion compared to other groups. CONCLUSION: IL-10 deficiency aggravates renal inflammation, fibrosis and functional failure in high-fat dieted obese mice, thus IL-10 therapy could be applied to obesity-related chronic renal failure.