Apolipoprotein A‐I (ApoA‐I) is the main functional protein component of human high‐density lipoproteins. ApoA‐I shows various anti‐inflammatory and atheroprotective properties toward macrophages; however, endogenous apoA‐I expression has not been investigated in macrophages. We have shown that endogenous apoA‐I gene is expressed in human macrophages at both mRNA and protein levels. Endogenous ApoA‐I is localized in intracellular vesicles and at the external side of the plasma membrane in association with ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and lipid rafts in macrophages. We have shown that endogenous ApoA‐I stabilizes ABCA1, moreover, down‐regulation of ApoA‐I by siRNA results in an increase of Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) mRNA and membrane surface protein expression, as well as an enhancement of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced expression of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin 1β (IL‐1β), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) genes in human macrophages. TNF‐α stimulates ApoA‐I expression and secretion (1.2±0.2 vs. 4.3±0.9 ng/mg total protein) in macrophages. Obtained results suggest that endogenous ApoA‐I has anti‐inflammatory properties, presumably due to ABCA1 stabilization in macrophages; these results elucidate the cell type‐specific mechanism of the TNF‐α‐mediated regulation of apoA‐I gene expression in monocytes and macrophages.—Mogilenko, D. A., Orlov, S. V., Trulioff, A. S., Ivanov, A. V., Nagumanov, V. K., Kudriavtsev, I. V., Shavva, V. S., Tanyanskiy, D. A., Perevozchikov, A. P. Endogenous apolipoprotein A‐I stabilizes ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 and modulates Toll‐like receptor 4 signaling in human macrophages. FASEB J. 26, 2019‐2030 (2012). www.fasebj.org

Despite the great interest of the scientific community in the behavior of the human body after contact with the new coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), long‐term (more than 6 months) monitoring of the immunological status of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) having varying severity degrees and of the people with a low SARS‐CoV‐2 viral load is practically absent. The aim of this study is a 9‐month monitoring of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection immune response development and extinction using quantitative assessment of IgA and IgG levels in the blood of healthy donors living in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and of the patients who have undergone COVID‐19. The project involved 180 volunteers, of whom 51 persons (28.33%) fell ill with COVID‐19 during the observation period. All people who underwent COVID‐19 developed a stable humoral immune response but their individual immune status had a number of features. Approximately 39.22% (20 of 51 people) of project participants diagnosed with COVID‐19 showed an unusual change in plasma anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 IgA levels. Relatively high levels of IgA (ratio ~ 3) after recovery persisted for a long time (more than 6 months). In one‐third (17 of 51 people) of patients with COVID‐19, the IgA level exceeded the IgG level. IgA antibodies appeared earlier and showed a stronger and more robust response to the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus than IgG. Increased levels of anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 IgA (ratio from 0.8 to 2.36) throughout the observation period were recorded in 28 of 180 project participants (15.56%) of whom only one person fell ill with COVID‐19.

Background: At present, the patient preparation for IVF needs to undergo a series of planned tests, including the genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) alleles of some genes. In former USSR countries, such investigation was not included in overwhelming majority of health insurance programs and paid by patient. In common, there are prerequisites to the study of more than 50 polymorphisms. An important faced task is to determine the optimal panel for SNP genotyping in terms of price/number of SNP. Materials and methods: During 2009–2015 in the University Hospital of St. Petersburg State University, blood samples were analyzed from 550 women with different reproductive system disorders preparing for IVF and 46 healthy women in control group. In total, 28 SNP were analyzed in the genes of thrombophilia factors, folic acid cycle, detoxification system, and the renin-angiotensin system. The method used was real-time PCR. Results: A significant increase in the frequency of pathological alleles of some polymorphisms in patients with habitual failure of IVF was shown, compared with the control group. As a result, two options defined panels for optimal typing SNP before IVF were composed. Standard panel includes 8 SNP, 5 in thromborhilic factors, and 3 in folic acid cycle genes. They are 20210 G > A of FII gene, R506Q G > A of FV gene (mutation Leiden), -675 5G > 4G of PAI-I gene, L33P T > C of ITGB3 gene, -455 G > A of FGB gene, 667 C > T of MTHFR gene, 2756 A > G of MTR gene, and 66 A > G of MTRR gene. Extended panel of 15 SNP also includes 807 C > T of ITGA2 gene, T154M C > T of GP1BA gene, second polymorphism 1298 A > C in MTHFR gene, polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin gene AGT M235T T > C and -1166 A > C of AGTR1 gene, polymorphisms I105V A > G and A114V C > T of detoxification system gene GSTP. Conclusion: The results of SNP genotyping can be adjusted for treatment tactics and IVF, and also medical support getting pregnant. The success rate of IVF is increased as the result, especially in the group with the usual failure of IVF.

Patients with end-stage kidney disease receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) are at increased risk for mortality after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ...