Objective:To analyze the clinical data of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnant women, and to study the characteristics of disease onset, diagnosis and treatment in pregnant women complicated with COVID-19.Methods:The clinical data of 29 pregnant women with COVID-19 hospitalized in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 30 to February 23, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The disease characteristics and experiences of diagnosis and treatment were concluded. The first day of onset was defined as the day when respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, fatigue, and chest tightness occurred. Group one was admitted to the hospital within the first week of onset, and group two was hospitalized during the second week of onset. Statistical analysis was conducted by t test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:The age of 29 patients ranged from 24 to 40 years old, with fever, cough and fatigue as the initial symptoms. There were five cases in the first trimester of pregnancy, five cases in the second trimester and 19 cases in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were 28 ordinary patients and one severe patient. Among the 29 patients, 14 were hospitalized in the first week of onset (group one), nine in the second week of onset (group two), and the remaining six were asymptomatic. On the day of admission, 22 patients showed lymphocytopenia in complete blood count and all the indicators of cellular immunity (CD3 + , CD4 + , CD8 + , CD19 + , CD16 + CD56 + T lymphocytes) were reduced in two patients. There were no significant differences between patients in group one and group two (all P>0.05). The levels of IgE and complement 3 were 28.45(18.30, 51.70) IU/mL and (1.219±0.320) g/L in group one, and 20.30(18.30, 75.80) IU/mL and (1.170±0.147) g/L in group two. The differences were statistical significance ( U=67 222.000, t=0.442, P=0.024、0.028). Primary chest computed tomography revealed ground-glass opacity in all 29 cases, which was considered as the diagnostic marker of viral pneumonia. Conventional therapy such as oxygen inhalation, antiviral, anti-infection was the main regimen for COVID-19 in pregnant women. Methylprednisolone and gamma globulin could be used for severe patients or ordinary patients with disease progression and slow recovery. No abortion or premature delivery occurred in patients in the first and second trimester of pregnancy. But in the third trimester of pregnancy patients, three cases of preterm labor and 13 cases of full-term pregnancy were all given emergency cesarean section after admission. One patient admitted to the hospital at gestation of 35 weeks underwent expectant management and then was given cesarean section at 37 weeks + 6 gestation. 2019 novel coronavirus nucleic acid detection in 17 neonatal nasal and pharyngeal swabs were all negative. Nineteen patients were cured and discharged, and the course of the patients was (19.60±5.38) days. The remaining 10 patients in hospital were mild. Conclusions:The COVID-19 patients with pregnancy generally exhibit mild symptoms and a favorable recovery. Concurrent damages to heart, liver and kidney and vertical transmission rarely occur. Most of the patients could be cured under routine treatment.

Objective:To screen the aging genes closely associated with pelvic organ prolapse(POP)by bioinformatics techniques,and to clarify the potential clinical significance and value of key genes.Methods:Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)Database was used to download the datasets GSE53868 and GSE151188 for POP-related genes with the keyword"pelvic organ prolapse".The aging-related genes were obtained from Aging Atlas,CellAge,and the Human Ageing Genomic Resources(HAGR)Databases;the intersection of genes related with POP in two groups provided a list of differentially expressed genes(DEGs)associated with aging in POP;gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA)was conducted with R software version 4.2.1;Gene Ontology(GO)functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)signaling pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs were conducted by the Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery(DAVID);the protein-protein interaction(PPI)network was constructed with Cytoscape 3.9.1 software;the top 10 Hub genes were selected by cytoHubba plugin;the infiltration of 22 types of immune cells in the patients in POP group and control group was analyzed by CIBERSORT deconvolution method using R software;the key genes were further screened by LASSO regression algorithm;the correlation and diagnostic efficacy between key genes and immune cell infiltration were analyzed.Results:From the Aging Atlas,CellAge,and HAGR Databases,724 aging-related genes were identified.Intersection with the POP expression profile yielded an aging gene expression matrix related to POP containing 624 genes,and 29 POP-related DEGs were identified after differential analysis,including 2 upregulated genes and 27 downregulated genes.The GSEA results showed that the upregulated pathways were mainly related to diabetes and cellular senescence,whereas the downregulated pathways included Alzheimer's disease and hypoxia-inducible factor-1(HIF-1)signaling pathways.The GO functional enrichment analysis mainly enriched in the biological processes such as the response of the cells to lipopolysaccharide,inflammatory response,and negative regulation of cell proliferation.The KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis mainly enriched in interleukin-17(IL-17),tumor necrosis factor(TNF),and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)signaling pathways.The PPI network analysis got 10 Hub genes including interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-1B(IL-1B),prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2),and NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha(NFKBIA).The CIBERSORT deconvolution method results showed a relatively higher infiltration proportion of neutrophils and activated mast cells in the patients in POP group,the activated mast cells had a positive correlation with most of the DEGs(r>0.5)and the macrophages had a significant positive correlation with IL-1B(r>0.6).The key genes Jun D proto-oncogene(JUND),Snail homolog 1(SNAI1),amphiregulin(AREG),Lamin A/C(LMNA),and superoxide dismutase 2(SOD2)selected by LASSO regression analysis had high diagnostic efficacies,and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)(AUC)were all greater than 0.75.Conclusion:During the aging process,the genes such as JUND,SNAI1,AREG,LMNA,and SOD2 may participate in the pathophysiology of POP through various pathways,including inflammation-related pathways,transcription regulation,and affecting collagen secretion and metabolism,thereby influence the connective tissue support function and promote the occurrence and development of POP.

Understanding of the nephrotoxicity induced by drug candidates is vital to drug discovery and development. Herein, an metabolomics method based on air flow-assisted desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (AFADESI-MSI) was established for direct analysis of metabolites in renal tissue sections. This method was subsequently applied to investigate spatially resolved metabolic profile changes in rat kidney after the administration of aristolochic acid I, a known nephrotoxic drug, aimed to discover metabolites associated with nephrotoxicity. As a result, 38 metabolites related to the arginine-creatinine metabolic pathway, the urea cycle, the serine synthesis pathway, metabolism of lipids, choline, histamine, lysine, and adenosine triphosphate were significantly changed in the group treated with aristolochic acid I. These metabolites exhibited a unique distribution in rat kidney and a good spatial match with histopathological renal lesions. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying aristolochic acids nephrotoxicity and demonstrates that AFADESI-MSI-based metabolomics is a promising technique for investigation of the molecular mechanism of drug toxicity.

Detailed knowledge on tissue-specific metabolic reprogramming in diabetic nephropathy (DN) is vital for more accurate understanding the molecular pathological signature and developing novel therapeutic strategies. In the present study, a spatial-resolved metabolomics approach based on air flow-assisted desorption electrospray ionization (AFADESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) integrated mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) was proposed to investigate tissue-specific metabolic alterations in the kidneys of high-fat diet-fed and streptozotocin (STZ)-treated DN rats and the therapeutic effect of astragaloside IV, a potential anti-diabetic drug, against DN. As a result, a wide range of functional metabolites including sugars, amino acids, nucleotides and their derivatives, fatty acids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycerides, carnitine and its derivatives, vitamins, peptides, and metal ions associated with DN were identified and their unique distribution patterns in the rat kidney were visualized with high chemical specificity and high spatial resolution. These region-specific metabolic disturbances were ameliorated by repeated oral administration of astragaloside IV (100 mg/kg) for 12 weeks. This study provided more comprehensive and detailed information about the tissue-specific metabolic reprogramming and molecular pathological signature in the kidney of diabetic rats. These findings highlighted the promising potential of AFADESI and MALDI integrated MSI based metabolomics approach for application in metabolic kidney diseases.