Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine
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Antibodies to the nucleocapsid (N) antigen are suggested to be used to monitor infections after COVID-19 vaccination, as first generation subunit vaccines are based on the spike (S) protein. We used multiplex immunoassays to simultaneously measure antibody responses to different fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 S and N antigens for evaluating the immunogenicity of the mRNA-1273 (Spykevax) and the BNT162b2 (Comirnaty) vaccines in 445 health care workers. ⋯ The increase in IgG levels and avidity was more pronounced after Spykevax than Comirnaty vaccination (36.2% vs 13.1% for N CT, and 10.6% vs 3.7% for N FL). Data suggest the induction of cross-reactive antibodies against the N CT region after administering these S-based vaccines, and this should be taken into account when using N seropositivity to detect breakthroughs.
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Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-produced metabolite, is accumulated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. It is well known to contribute to CKD-related cardiovascular complications. However, the effect of TMAO on peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis remains largely unknown. ⋯ In vitro study revealed that TMAO directly induced primary peritoneal mesothelial cell necrosis, together with increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including CCL2, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β. In addition, TMAO significantly increased TNF-α-induced P-selectin production in mesothelial cells, as well as high glucose-induced TNF-α and CCL2 expression in endothelial cells. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that higher levels of TMAO exacerbate peritoneal inflammation and might be a risk factor of incidence of peritonitis in PD patients.