Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis in children. Methods:Clinical data were collected from children diagnosed with Mycoplasma pneumoniae -induced rash and mucositis in the Department of Dermatology, Capital Center for Children's Health, Captital Medical University from August 1, 2023, to December 1, 2023, and their clinical features were analyzed. Results:A total of 15 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis were collected, including 8 males and 7 females, aged 4 to 12 years. They were clinically characterized by obvious mucositis, and skin lesions were relatively mild. Oral mucosal involvement was observed in 13 cases, including lip ulcers (12 cases), oral mucositis (7 cases), tongue ulcers (3 cases), and glossitis (1 case) ; ocular mucosal involvement was reported in 7 cases, including suppurative conjunctivitis (4 cases), and eyelid edema (3 cases) ; 3 children had vulvogenital mucosal involvement, including coronary sulcus ulcers (1 case), urethral meatus ulcers (1 case), labia minora ulcers (1 case), and perianal ulcers (1 case) ; 1 child had nasal mucosal ulcers. Skin lesions occurred on the upper limbs in 5 cases, on the lower limbs in 6 cases, on the face in 2 cases, on the vulva in 2 cases, as well as on the trunk in 1 case. The types of skin lesions included targetoid erythema in 11 cases, vesiculobullous lesions in 6 cases and atypical targetoid erythema in 2 cases. PCR for the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in vesiculobullous fluids showed negative results in the 6 patients with vesiculobullous lesions. The patients received systemic and topical treatment with antibiotic agents and glucocorticoids, as well as supportive therapy. Main pulmonary symptoms as well as skin and mucosal lesions of the 15 children subsided within 3 weeks, and they all had a favorable prognosis, without obvious complications or sequelae. Conclusion:Mycoplasma pneumoniae-related skin and mucosal lesions predominantly present as mucositis, with mild or absent skin involvement. The disorder usually has a mild course, characterized by short disease duration and favorable prognosis.

Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis in children. Methods:Clinical data were collected from children diagnosed with Mycoplasma pneumoniae -induced rash and mucositis in the Department of Dermatology, Capital Center for Children's Health, Captital Medical University from August 1, 2023, to December 1, 2023, and their clinical features were analyzed. Results:A total of 15 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis were collected, including 8 males and 7 females, aged 4 to 12 years. They were clinically characterized by obvious mucositis, and skin lesions were relatively mild. Oral mucosal involvement was observed in 13 cases, including lip ulcers (12 cases), oral mucositis (7 cases), tongue ulcers (3 cases), and glossitis (1 case) ; ocular mucosal involvement was reported in 7 cases, including suppurative conjunctivitis (4 cases), and eyelid edema (3 cases) ; 3 children had vulvogenital mucosal involvement, including coronary sulcus ulcers (1 case), urethral meatus ulcers (1 case), labia minora ulcers (1 case), and perianal ulcers (1 case) ; 1 child had nasal mucosal ulcers. Skin lesions occurred on the upper limbs in 5 cases, on the lower limbs in 6 cases, on the face in 2 cases, on the vulva in 2 cases, as well as on the trunk in 1 case. The types of skin lesions included targetoid erythema in 11 cases, vesiculobullous lesions in 6 cases and atypical targetoid erythema in 2 cases. PCR for the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in vesiculobullous fluids showed negative results in the 6 patients with vesiculobullous lesions. The patients received systemic and topical treatment with antibiotic agents and glucocorticoids, as well as supportive therapy. Main pulmonary symptoms as well as skin and mucosal lesions of the 15 children subsided within 3 weeks, and they all had a favorable prognosis, without obvious complications or sequelae. Conclusion:Mycoplasma pneumoniae-related skin and mucosal lesions predominantly present as mucositis, with mild or absent skin involvement. The disorder usually has a mild course, characterized by short disease duration and favorable prognosis.

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.

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.

This study investigated the anti-angiogenic activities of two diarylheptanoids, together with a structure analogue, curcumin. The activity and toxicity of these three compounds were compared using transgenic zebrafish as in vivo model and human umbilical vein endothelial cell(HUVEC)as in vitro model. Anti-angiogenic index(AI)was used as the ratio between LC50 and EC50. The results suggested that in both in vitro and in vivo assay, curcumin exerted the most potent anti-angiogenic effect but with lowest toxicity among these compounds; Yakuchinone A was the second potent; Yakuchinone B has the lowest activity but with the highest toxicity in all three compounds. Taken together, curcumin was the best angiogenic inhibitor in these three diarylheptanoids.