Activation of endogenous retrovirus triggers microglial immuno-inflammation and contributes to negative emotional behaviors in mice with chronic stress

Plasma circRNA HIPK2 as a putative biomarker for the diagnosis and prediction of therapeutic effects in major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a prevalent type of non-coding RNAs exhibiting extensive expression in mammalian cells. Owing to their involvement in diverse pathophysiological mechanisms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and their inherent stability in peripheral blood, circRNAs have emerged as potential biomarkers of considerable significance. This study aimed to identify and validate circular RNA HIPK2 (circHIPK2) in MDD patients and to investigate its potential as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of MDD.

METHODS

Patients with MDD (n = 81) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 48) were recruited for our study (October 2022 to June 2023). The expression of circHIPK2 in plasma was assessed using absolute quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

RESULTS

The expression of circHIPK2 in plasma of patients with MDD exhibited a significant increase compared to HCs. The circHIPK2 levels showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.796, corresponding to a specificity of 97.9% and a sensitivity of 60.4% in diagnosing MDD. Additionally, the rate of change in circHIPK2 over a 14-day period exhibited an AUC curve of 0.819, indicating its predictive value for antidepressive effects.

CONCLUSIONS

CircHIPK2 could serve as a potential biomarker for diagnosing MDD and predicting therapeutic effects of MDD.

COVID-19. Biology, pathophysiology, and immunology: a pathologist view

Even if the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been declared over, several risks and clinical problems remain to be faced, including long-COVID sequelae and possible outbreaks of pathogenic variants. Intense research on COVID-19 has provided in these few years a striking amount of data covering different fields and disciplines, which can help to provide a knowledge shield against new potential infective spreads, and may also potentially be applied to other fields of medicine, including oncology and neurology. Nevertheless, areas of uncertainty still remain regarding the pathogenic mechanisms that subtend the multifaceted manifestations of the disease. To better clarify the pathogenesis of the disease, a systematic multidisciplinary evaluation of the many mechanisms involved in COVID-19 is mandatory, including clinical, physiological, radiological, immunological and pathological studies. In COVID-19 syndrome the pathological studies have been mainly performed on autopsy cases, and only a few studies are available on biopsies. Nevertheless, these studies have provided relevant information that can substantially contribute to decipher the complex scenario characterizing the different forms of COVID-19 and long-COVID-19. In this review the data provided by pathological investigations are recapitulated and discussed, in the light of different hypothesis and data provided by clinical, physiological and immunological data.