Genetic alteration of human MYH6 is mimicked by SARS-CoV-2 polyprotein: mapping viral variants of cardiac interest

Mediators and mechanisms of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated myocarditis: Insights from mouse and human

The broad application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has led to significant gains in cancer outcomes. By abrogating inhibitory signals, ICIs promote T cell targeting of cancer cells but can frequently trigger autoimmune manifestations, termed immune-related adverse events (irAEs), affecting essentially any organ system. Among cardiovascular irAEs, immune-related myocarditis (irMyocarditis) is the most described and carries the highest morbidity. The currently recommended treatment for irMyocarditis is potent immunosuppression with corticosteroids and other agents, but this has limited evidence basis. The cellular pathophysiology of irMyocarditis remains poorly understood, though mouse models and human data have both implicated effector CD8+ T cells, some of which are specific for the cardiomyocyte protein α-myosin. While the driving molecular signals and transcriptional programs are not well defined, the involvement of chemokine receptors such as CCR5 and CXCR3 has been proposed. Fundamental questions regarding why only approximately 1% of ICI recipients develop irMyocarditis and why irMyocarditis carries a much worse prognosis than other forms of lymphocytic myocarditis remain unanswered. Further work in both murine systems and with human samples are needed to identify better tools for diagnosis, risk-stratification, and treatment.

Longitudinal efficacy and toxicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy

Despite more than 2 years having elapsed since the onset of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a level of hesitation around increased SARS-CoV-2 vaccine toxicity in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy (IO) remains. This hesitation stems from the idea that IO agents could elicit an overwhelming immune stimulation post vaccination and therefore increase the risk of vaccine-related toxicity. The aim of our study was to explore serological responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients treated with IO and describe the level of immune stimulation using parameters such as blood cytokines, autoantibody levels and immune related adverse events (irAEs) post vaccination. Fifty-one evaluable patients were enrolled in this longitudinal study. Absolute levels and neutralization potential of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were not significantly different in the IO group compared to non-IO. Chemotherapy adversely affected seroconversion when compared to IO and/or targeted treatment. Following vaccination, the prevalence of grade ≥2 irAEs in patients treated with IO was not higher than the usual reported IO toxicity. We report, for the first time, that anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, elicited the generation of five autoantibodies. The significantly increased autoantibodies were IgM autoantibodies against beta-2 glycoprotein (p = 0.02), myeloperoxidase (p = 0.03), nucleosome (p = 0.041), SPLUNC2 (p < 0.001) and IgG autoantibody against Myosin Heavy Chain 6 (MYH6) (p < 0.001). Overall, comprehensive analysis of a small cohort showed that co-administration of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and IO is not associated with increased irAEs. Nevertheless, the detection of autoantibodies post anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination warrants further investigation (NCT03702309).