The drivers of critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain unknown. Given major confounding factors such as age and comorbidities, true mediators of this condition have remained elusive. We used a multi-omics analysis combined with artificial intelligence in a young patient cohort where major comorbidities were excluded at the onset. The cohort included 47 “critical” (in the intensive care unit under mechanical ventilation) and 25 “non-critical” (in a non-critical care ward) patients with COVID-19 and 22 healthy individuals. The analyses included whole-genome sequencing, whole-blood RNA sequencing, plasma and blood mononuclear cell proteomics, cytokine profiling, and high-throughput immunophenotyping. An ensemble of machine learning, deep learning, quantum annealing, and structural causal modeling were used. Patients with critical COVID-19 were characterized by exacerbated inflammation, perturbed lymphoid and myeloid compartments, increased coagulation, and viral cell biology. Among differentially expressed genes, we observed up-regulation of the metalloproteaseADAM9. This gene signature was validated in a second independent cohort of 81 critical and 73 recovered patients with COVID-19 and was further confirmed at the transcriptional and protein level and by proteolytic activity. Ex vivo ADAM9 inhibition decreased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uptake and replication in human lung epithelial cells. In conclusion, within a young, otherwise healthy, cohort of individuals with COVID-19, we provide the landscape of biological perturbations in vivo where a unique gene signature differentiated critical from non-critical patients. We further identifiedADAM9as a driver of disease severity and a candidate therapeutic target.

Background: Refractory hypoglycemia in patients with metastatic insulinoma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Everolimus could be a new therapeutic option.Methods: Within the French Group, we conducted a retrospective, multicentric study of endocrine tumors to evaluate the time to the first recurrence of symptomatic hypoglycemia, after everolimus initiation, in patients with metastatic insulinoma and refractory hypoglycemia. Ongoing hyperglycemic medical options, tumor response, and safety information were recorded.Results: Twelve patients with metastatic insulinoma and refractory hypoglycemia who were treated with everolimus between May 2007 and June 2011 were reviewed. Everolimus (starting dose, 10 mg/day, except in one patient, 5 mg/day) was given after a median of four previous therapeutic lines. Medication aimed at normalizing blood glucose levels in 11 patients. After a median duration of 6.5 months (range 1–35+ months), median time to the first recurrence of symptomatic hypoglycemia was 6.5 months (range 0 to 35+ months). Three patients discontinued everolimus because of cardiac and/or pulmonary adverse events at 1, 1.5, and 7 months after initiation, which led to two deaths. Three patients discontinued everolimus because of tumor progression at 2, 3, and 10 months after initiation, without recurrence of hypoglycemia.Conclusion: Everolimus appears to be a new effective treatment for patients with metastatic insulinoma and refractory hypoglycemia. Tolerance should be carefully monitored.

Objective: The primary endpoint was to analyze the predictive factors of lymph node involvement (LN+). Background: Indications for additional right hemicolectomy (RHC) with lymph node (LN) resection after appendectomy for appendix neuroendocrine tumor (A-NET) remain controversial, especially for tumors between 1 and 2 cm in size. Methods: National study including all patients with nonmetastatic A-NET diagnosed after January, 2010 in France. Results: In all, 403 patients were included. A-NETs were: within tip (67%), body (24%) or base (9%) of the appendix; tumor size was < 1 cm (62%), 1 to 2 cm (30%), or >2 cm (8%); grade 1 (91%); mesoappendix involvement 3 mm (5%); lymphovascular (15%) or perineural (24%) invasion; and positive resection margin (8%). According to the European NeuroEndocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) recommendations, 85 patients (21%) should have undergone RHC. The agreement between ENETS guidelines and the multidisciplinary tumor board for complementary RHC was 89%. In all, 100 (25%) patients underwent RHC with LN resection, 26 of whom had LN+. Tumor size (best cut-off at 1.95 cm), lymphovascular and perineural invasion, and pT classifications were associated with LN+. Among the 44 patients who underwent RHC for a tumor of 1 to 2 cm in size, 8 (18%) had LN+. No predictive factor of LN+ (base, resection margins, grade, mesoappendix, lymphovascular, perineural involvement) was found in this subgroup of patients. Conclusions: In the largest study using the latest pathological criteria for completion RHC in A-NET, a quarter of patients had residual tumor. Further studies are warranted to demonstrate the survival impact of RHC in this setting.