COVID-19 posed a major challenge to the healthcare system and resources worldwide. The popularization of vaccines and the adoption of numerous prevention and control measures enabled the gradual end of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, successive occurrence of autoimmune diseases in patients with COVID-19 cannot be overlooked. Long COVID has been the major focus of research due to the long duration of different symptoms and the variety of systems involved. Autoimmunity may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of long COVID. Here, we reviewed several autoimmune disorders occurring after COVID-19 infection and the pathogenesis of long COVID.

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is one of the most common adult nephrotic syndromes. Some patients with this disorder require immunosuppressive therapy. This retrospective case series was performed to assess the effects of tacrolimus (TAC) combined with Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside (TWG) in treating IMN. From January 2015 to August 2016, kidney-biopsy-proven IMN patients treated with TAC in the Chinese PLA General Hospital were screened. Data were retrieved from the patients’ medical records. The first efficacy evaluation index was remission rate (complete remission and partial remission), and the secondary efficacy evaluation indices included relapse rate, proteinuria, serum albumin and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Adverse events were also assessed. The included patients’ treatments were tacrolimus monotherapy (TAC group, n = 33), tacrolimus combined with methylprednisolone (MP) (TAC + MP group, n = 24) and tacrolimus combined with Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside (TAC + TWG group, n = 21). The remission rates of the TAC, TAC + MP, and TAC + TWG groups in the 10th month were 54.5, 62.5, and 85.7%, respectively (TAC + TWG group vs TAC group, P = 0.037, TAC + TWG group vs TAC + MP group, P = 0.125). Moreover, the complete remission rates of the TAC, TAC + MP, and TAC + TWG groups in the 10th month were 21.2, 20.8, and 57.1%, respectively (TAC + TWG group vs TAC group, P = 0.007, TAC + TWG group vs TAC + MP group, P = 0.012). Compared with the TAC group, the TAC + TWG group had a higher remission rate during these ten months (log-rank, P = 0.005). Compared with the TAC and TAC + MP groups, the TAC + TWG group had a higher complete remission rate (log-rank, P = 0.019 and log-rank, P = 0.005, respectively). This retrospective study showed that TAC combined with TWG may be effective for treating IMN. Further randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of TAC combined with TWG.

The impact of obesity on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been well characterized in a Chinese population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of BMI on the clinicopathological characteristics and mortality of patients with HCC. The study cohort consisted of 379 patients who were diagnosed with HCC at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between June 2012 and August 2014. Study subjects were divided into two body mass index (BMI) categories: normal weight (BMI <23 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI ≥23 kg/m2). Of the 379 patients, 44 (11.6 %) were underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), 172 (45.4 %) had a normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 23.0), 133 (35.1 %) were overweight (23.0 ≤ BMI < 27.5), and 30 (7.9 %) were obese (BMI ≥27.5). After a median follow-up time of 296 (range, 15–720) days, 168 (44.3 %) patients died with median survival time of 159 (range, 15–690) days. Patients with lower BMIs also exhibited a higher liver-related mortality rate (60.6 vs. 22.7 %; p = 1.8 × 10−13) and a shorter survival time (353 days vs. 571 days; p = 6.2 × 10−6) than patients with higher BMIs. In multivariate analysis, the BMI class was also found to be a significant independent impact factor for overall survival (p = 2.2 × 10−8), age, alpha-fetoprotein level, Child–Pugh score, treatment strategy, antiviral treatment, extrahepatic metastasis, and tumor infiltration of the portal vein. Our data suggest that lower BMI has a significant impact regarding poor outcomes in patients with HCC. To better understand the impact of BMI on the prognosis of HCC patients, more large-scale cohort studies will be necessary.

The impact of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer remains largely unknown, particularly in Asian populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of BMI on clinicopathological characteristics and mortality of Chinese colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Alport Syndrome (AS) is a progressive hereditary glomerular disease. It is often accompanied by sensorineural hearing loss and ocular abnormalities and can sometimes develop into end stage renal disease (ESRD), which is caused by mutations in the genes encoding the collagen type IV family of proteins.Methods: This study analyzed the association between the clinical data of seven AS families and genes and the disease progression of different mutation types, including COL4A3 (OMIM 120070)，COL4A4 (OMIM 120131), and COL4A5 (OMIM303630).Results: A total of six new pathogenic mutation sites, one complex heterozygous mutation at COL4A3, and a combined mutation of COL4A5 and INF2 (OMIM 610982) were identified in this study. It was revealed that the clinical manifestations of X‐linked AS caused by mutations in the COL4A5 gene were more severe in males than in females. In addition, the difference in patient phenotype can be attributed to the location of gene mutations affecting the protein domain or functional domain. Our data suggested that the gene deletion and nonsense mutations had a high risk for progression to ESRD.Conclusion: Our results revealed the spectrum of type IV collagen genes, which contribute to the enrichment of database resources and has important implications in the diagnosis, prognosis, and guiding treatment of AS.