JACC. Basic to translational science
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JACC Basic Transl Sci · Mar 2021
What Are the Clinical Implications of the SARS-CoV-2 Variants: 5 Things Every Cardiologist Should Know.
New variants of the severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are emerging around the world and causing widespread concern regarding their ability to escape natural or vaccine-induced immunity and available therapeutics. Here, we will briefly review the potential clinical implications of these new variants.
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JACC Basic Transl Sci · Nov 2020
Cardiorenal Tissues Express SARS-CoV-2 Entry Genes and Basigin (BSG/CD147) Increases With Age in Endothelial Cells.
Vascular and cardiovascular inflammation and thrombosis occur in patients with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Advancing age is the most significant risk factor for severe COVID-19. Using transcriptomic databases, the authors found that: 1) cardiovascular tissues and endothelial cells express putative genes for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection, including angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and basigin (BSG); 2) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 receptor pathways ACE2/transmembrane serine protease 2 and BSG/peptidylprolyl isomerase B(A) polarize to lung/epithelium and vessel/endothelium, respectively; 3) expression of host genes is relatively stable with age; and 4) notable exceptions are ACE2, which decreases with age in some tissues, and BSG, which increases with age in endothelial cells, suggesting that BSG expression in the vasculature may explain the heightened risk for severe disease with age.
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JACC Basic Transl Sci · Jul 2020
"Warp Speed" Operations in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Moving Too Quickly?
The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to regulatory organizations, the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, and the publishing industry. This Translational Perspectives paper attempts to highlight some of the challenges and perils of moving extraordinarily fast in an effort to save human lives in the midst of a global pandemic. As with the development of all new therapeutic approaches, it will take time to assess the risks and benefits of developing new therapies at "warp speed".
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JACC Basic Transl Sci · May 2020
ReviewCOVID-19 Clinical Trials: A Primer for the Cardiovascular and Cardio-Oncology Communities.
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a proliferation of clinical trials designed to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Many therapeutic agents that are being used to treat patients with COVID-19 are repurposed treatments for influenza, Ebola, or for malaria that were developed decades ago and are unlikely to be familiar to the cardiovascular and cardio-oncology communities. Here, the authors provide a foundation for cardiovascular and cardio-oncology physicians on the front line providing care to patients with COVID-19, so that they may better understand the emerging cardiovascular epidemiology and the biological rationale for the clinical trials that are ongoing for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
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JACC Basic Transl Sci · May 2020
ReviewCOVID-19 for the Cardiologist: Basic Virology, Epidemiology, Cardiac Manifestations, and Potential Therapeutic Strategies.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has reached pandemic status. As it spreads across the world, it has overwhelmed health care systems, strangled the global economy, and led to a devastating loss of life. Widespread efforts from regulators, clinicians, and scientists are driving a rapid expansion of knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19. ⋯ The authors discuss the basic virology, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, multiorgan consequences, and outcomes. With a focus on cardiovascular complications, they propose several mechanisms of injury. The virology and potential mechanism of injury form the basis for a discussion of potential disease-modifying therapies.