Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year, more than 700 thousand people die from this cause. Therefore, suicide is a public health issue. The complex interaction between different factors causes suicide; however, depression is one of the most frequent factors in people who have attempted suicide. Several studies have reported that vitamin D deficiency may be a relevant risk factor for depression, and vitamin D supplementation has shown promising effects in the adjunctive treatment of this mood disorder. Among the beneficial mechanisms of vitamin D, it has been proposed that it may enhance serotonin synthesis and modulate proinflammatory cytokines since low serotonin levels and systemic inflammation have been associated with depression and suicide. The present narrative review shows the potential pathogenic role of vitamin D deficiency in depression and suicide and the potential benefits of vitamin D supplementation to reduce their risk.
This is the first study outside of clinical trials (phase I–III) evaluating the ability of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine to generate neutralizing antibodies and the factors associated with optimal or suboptimal response. In a longitudinal assay, 346 people (117 with prior COVID-19 and 229 without prior COVID-19) vaccinated with Ad5-nCoV were recruited. The percentage of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (Surrogate Virus Neutralization Test) and antibodies against Ad5 (ADV-Ad5 IgG ELISA) were quantified pre and post-vaccination effects. The Ad5-nCoV vaccine induces higher neutralizing antibodies percentage in individuals with prior COVID-19 than those without prior COVID-19 (median [IQR]: 98% [97–98.1] vs. 72% [54–90], respectively; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, a natural infection (before vaccination) induces more neutralizing antibodies percentage than immunized individuals without prior COVID-19 (p < 0.01). No patient had vaccine-severe adverse effects. The age, antidepressant, and immunosuppressive treatments, reactogenicity, and history of COVID-19 are associated with impaired antibody production. The anti-Ad5 antibodies increased after 21 days of post-vaccination in all groups (p < 0.01). We recommend the application of a booster dose of Ad5-nCoV, especially for those individuals without previous COVID-19 infection. Finally, the induction of anti-Ad5 antibodies after vaccination should be considered if a booster with the same vaccine is planned.
Few studies analyze the role of B cells subpopulations in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathophysiology. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the differences in B cell subpopulations and B cell activation according to disease activity, RA subtype, and absence of DMARDs therapy. These subgroups were compared with control subjects (CS). 139 subjects were included, of which 114 were RA patients and 25 were controls. Patients were divided into 99 with seropositive RA, six with seronegative RA, and nine without DMARDs. The patients with seropositive RA were subclassified based on the DAS28 index. A 7-color multicolor flow cytometry panel was used to identify B-cell immunophenotypes and cell activation markers. There were no changes in total B cells frequencies between RA patients and controls. However, a lower frequency of memory B cells and pre-plasmablasts was observed in seropositive RA compared to controls (p <0.0001; p =0.0043, respectively). In contrast, a higher frequency of mature B cells was observed in RA than in controls (p =0.0002). Among patients with RA, those with moderate activity had a higher percentage of B cells (p =0.0021). The CD69 + marker was increased (p <0.0001) in RA compared to controls, while the CD40 + frequency was decreased in patients (p <0.0001). Transitional, naïve, and double-negative B cell subpopulations were higher in seronegative RA than in seropositive (p <0.01). In conclusion, seropositive and seronegative RA patients, there are alterations in B cell activation and B cell subpopulations, independently of clinical activity and DMARDs therapy.
Several studies have reported the benefits and safety of heterologous vaccination among different approved vaccines; however, there are no specific reports on the effects of vaccination with the Ad5-nCoV and other vaccines of the same or different technologies. In the present study, we evaluated the neutralizing antibodies percentage against SARS-CoV-2 in Mexican patients immunized with the Ad5-nCoV vaccine six months after its application. Moreover, the effect of the heterologous vaccination with the Ad5-nCoV vaccine and a booster dose of ChAdOx1-S-Nov-19, Ad26.COV2.S, BNT162b2, or mRNA-127 were determined. Our results suggest that a heterologous regimen of one dose with Ad5-nCoV vaccine followed by a booster dose of a different vaccine is safe and induces a stronger humoral immune response.
Purpose: Understanding the humoral immune response dynamics carried out by B cells in COVID-19 vaccination is little explored; therefore, we analyze the changes induced in the different cellular subpopulations of B cells after vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech). Methods: This prospective cohort study evaluated thirty-nine immunized health workers (22 with prior COVID-19 and 17 without prior COVID-19) and ten subjects not vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (control group). B cell subpopulations (transitional, mature, naïve, memory, plasmablasts, early plasmablast, and double-negative B cells) and neutralizing antibody levels were analyzed and quantified by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. Results: The dynamics of the B cells subpopulations after vaccination showed the following pattern: the percentage of transitional B cells was higher in the prior COVID-19 group (p < 0.05), whereas virgin B cells were more prevalent in the group without prior COVID-19 (p < 0.05), mature B cells predominated in both vaccinated groups (p < 0.01), and memory B cells, plasmablasts, early plasmablasts, and double-negative B cells were higher in the not vaccinated group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: BNT162b2 vaccine induces changes in B cell subpopulations, especially generating plasma cells and producing neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. However, the previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 does not significantly alter the dynamics of these subpopulations but induces more rapid and optimal antibody production.