Objective:To analyze skin manifestations associated with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in children.Methods:Children diagnosed with COVID-19 accompanied by skin manifestations were retrospectively collected from outpatient clinics or teleclinics at the Department of Dermatology, Children′s Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics from November 1st, 2022 to December 10th, 2022, and their clinical characteristics were analyzed. Analysis of variance was used for comparing measurement data, and Fisher′s exact test for comparing enumeration data.Results:A total of 61 children with COVID-19 accompanied by skin lesions were included, they were aged from 22 days to 17 years (2.83 ± 2.47 years, and their course of disease ranged from 2 to 14 days. Skin lesions manifested as acute urticaria in 25 cases (41.0%), eruptive/maculopapular lesions in 10 cases (16.4%), facial vascular edema in 6 cases (9.8%), urticarial vasculitis in 5 cases (8.2%), pityriasis rosea and erythema multiforme each in 4 cases (6.6%), purpura in 2 cases (3.3%), mixed skin lesions in 2 cases (3.3%), and folliculitis, erythema nodosum, as well as angioedema of the limbs each in 1 case (1.6%). The age of children with different skin manifestations significantly differed ( F = 4.67, P < 0.001). Forty-eight patients (78.69%) presented with generalized skin lesions, while 13 (21.31%) with localized skin lesions; 10 (16.4%) had itching, 3 (4.9%) had a burning sensation, while 48 (78.7%) showed no symptoms. Skin lesions persisted for ≤ 3 days in 36 cases (59.0%) and for > 3 days in 25 cases (41.0%), and all lesions persisted for less than 2 weeks. All 61 patients had fever up to 38.5 ℃; 1 (1.6%) developed skin lesions before the fever, 41 (67.2%) developed lesions during the fever, and 19 (31.2%) developed lesions after the fever. The skin manifestations significantly differed among various groups divided by patients with different lesion distribution, self-reported symptoms, duration of lesions, and sequence between fever and lesion onset (all P < 0.05). No recurrence was observed after recovery, and skin lesions subsided without pigment changes or scaring. Conclusion:COVID-19 was often accompanied by various skin lesions in children, which mainly manifested as urticaria and eruptive/maculopapular lesions.

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between plasma microRNA126 (miR-126) level and coronary collateral circulation (CCC) formation and to determine whether the miR-126 in plasma could serve as a blood-based biomarker for CCC in patients with severely narrowed coronary arteries (CAD).

METHODSIn this prospective study, a total of 120 consecutive CAD patients with ≥ 95% stenosis in one epicardial coronary artery were enrolled. Thirty healthy people served as normal control. They were divided into two groups according to Rentrop grades: patients with grade 2 and 3 collateral development (good CCC group, n = 64) and patients with grade 0 and 1 collateral development (poor CCC group, n = 56). Plasma miR-126 was measured by RT-PCR and serum VEGF was evaluated by ELISA method.

RESULTSFasting plasma glucose (FPG) was significantly lower in patients with good CCC than in patients with poor CCC ((5.99 ± 1.48) mmol/L vs. (6.40 ± 2.50) mmol/L). Plasma miR-126 levels and VEGF levels were significantly lower in CAD patients than in healthy people (0.04 ± 0.01 vs. 0.07 ± 0.02, P = 0.023 and (2 110 ± 455) ng/L vs. (2 574 ± 450) ng/L, P = 0.011, respectively). miR-126 and VEGF levels were significantly higher in good CCC group than in poor CCC group (miR-126: 0.06 ± 0.02 vs. 0.03 ± 0.01, P = 0.021;VEGF:(2 549 ± 614) ng/L vs. (1 759 ± 452) ng/L, P = 0.008) . In CAD patients with good CCC, the miR-126 level was positively correlated to the VEGF expression (r = 0.712, P = 0.005) while there was no correlation between miR-126 level VEGF in CAD patients with poor CCC (r = 0.342, P = 0.483) . Multivariate analysis revealed that plasma miR-126 (OR = 2.145, 95% CI 1.691-2.988, P = 0.001) and VEGF (OR = 1.279, 95% CI 1.068-2.295, P = 0.013) were independent predictors of collateral formation in patients with severely narrowed coronary arteries. In CAD patients, the area under the miR-126 ROC curve is 0.951 (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONPlasma miR-126 level is positively correlated to the CCC formation and is an independent predictor of CCC development in patients with severely narrowed coronary arteries, suggesting that plasma miR-126 might be a useful new, stable blood biomarker for predicting CCC formation in patients with severely narrowed coronary arteries.

Biomarkers ; Collateral Circulation ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Disease ; Heart ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; Multivariate Analysis ; Plasma ; Prospective Studies ; ROC Curve

The development of broad-spectrum antivirals against human coronaviruses (HCoVs) is critical to combat the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, as well as future outbreaks of emerging CoVs. We have previously identified a polyethylene glycol-conjugated (PEGylated) lipopeptide, EK1C4, with potent pan-CoV fusion inhibitory activity. However, PEG linkers in peptide or protein drugs may reduce stability or induce anti-PEG antibodies in vivo. Therefore, we herein report the design and synthesis of a series of dePEGylated lipopeptide-based pan-CoV fusion inhibitors featuring the replacement of the PEG linker with amino acids in the heptad repeat 2 C-terminal fragment (HR2-CF) of HCoV-OC43. Among these lipopeptides, EKL1C showed the most potent inhibitory activity against infection by SARS-CoV-2 and its spike (S) mutants, as well as other HCoVs and some bat SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs) tested. The dePEGylated lipopeptide EKL1C exhibited significantly stronger resistance to proteolytic enzymes, better metabolic stability in mouse serum, higher thermostability than the PEGylated lipopeptide EK1C4, suggesting that EKL1C could be further developed as a candidate prophylactic and therapeutic for COVID-19 and other coronavirus diseases.