Growing evidence indicates the pathogenic role of autoreactive IgE in autoimmune diseases. Incidence of autoimmune and allergic diseases in the industrialized countries is consistently icreasing, thus leading to concerted efforts to comprehend the regulation of IgE-mediated mechanisms. The first reports of a presence of IgE autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases have been published a long time ago, and it is now recognized that self-reactive IgE can mediate inflammatory response in bullous pemhigoid, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic urticaria, and atopic dermatitis. The advances in understanding the pathomechanisms of these disorders brought to a successful use of anti-IgE strategies in their management. The present review discusses the current state of knowledge on the IgE-mediated autoimmunity and anti-IgE treatment, and pave the way for further exploration of the subject.

The COVID-19 pandemic requires the development of effective methods for the treatment of severe cases. We aimed to describe clinical outcomes and changes in inflammatory markers in Polish patients treated with tocilizumab. The medical charts of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients treated in the Department of Infectious Diseases between 4 March and 2 September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients who received tocilizumab according to the Polish Association of Epidemiologists and Infectiologists guidelines were selected for the study. We identified 29 individuals who received tocilizumab, out of whom 11 (37.9%) died. The individuals who died had significantly higher maximal interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) serum levels than survivors. After administration of tocilizumab, further increase in LDH and IL-6 was a prognostic factor for unfavorable outcomes. Among inflammatory markers, 7-day mean of IL-6 serum concentration was the best predictor of death (cut-off: ≥417 pg/mL; area under ROC curve = 0.81 [95% Confidence Interval: 0.63–0.98]). The serum concentrations of inflammatory markers before administration of tocilizumab did not predict the outcome, whereas IL-6 and LDH measurements after administration of tocilizumab seemed to be of predictive value.

Present-day Venus, similar to Earth in terms of relative radius, acceleration of gravity and mean density, is characterised by a very strong greenhouse effect and full cloud cover. Numerical simulations and 3D-climate models suggest that Venus may have had a hospitable climate and surface water in the past. Therefore, potential Venusian life could have migrated to the clouds, which provide conditions that might support life. Many fungi have been identified as polyextremophiles, successfully coping with multiple stressors, like irradiation, extremes of temperatures and pH, low water availability. Acidophilic fungi could thus be candidates for potential Venus cloud inhabitants. We have analyzed the UV-Vis spectra of the spores of three acidophilic fungal species, Acidiella bohemica, Acidomyces acidophilus, and Acidomyces acidothermus. The UV-Vis spectrum of A. acidothermus showed three peaks of increased absorbance at 243 nm, 275 nm, and 323 nm, whereas in the case of A. bohemica and A. acidomyces one peak of maximal absorption was observed, at 265 nm and 258 nm, respectively. This partially overlaps with the wavelength range of the Venus "mysterious" UV absorber. Until future Venus missions provide more data, fungi with extremophilic properties should not be overlooked when considering possibility of life in the Venus clouds.