AB1154 HUMORAL AND CELLULAR RESPONSE TO A THIRD BOOSTER DOSE SARS-CoV- 2 VACCINATION IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE: A CASE SERIES

Background

Patients with systemic rheumatic diseases (SRD) are at increased risk for viral infections and successful vaccination is crucial to combat COVID-19 pandemic in this population. However, reduced antibody responses have been described in a proportion of SRD individuals on immunosuppressant agents including mycophenolate (MMF).

Objectives

We aimed to assess humoral and cellular response of SRD patients who received a booster SARS-CoV- 2 vaccination.

Methods

Twenty patients without history of COVID-19 infection (11 men, median age 58 years (range:38-74), 12 on treatment with MMF (2gr daily) due to systemic sclerosis (n= 6), inflammatory myositis (n=4) and systemic lupus erythematosus (n=2) and 8 on tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (anti-TNF) due to spondyloarthritis (n=5), rheumatoid arthritis (n=2) and Bechet disease (n=1) were included. All were on monotherapy with anti-TNF except patient with Bechet. Patients on MMF discontinued treatment for 1 week after the booster dose whistle no treatment modification was implemented in anti-TNF group. Serological response to vaccination was assessed using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant assay. Cellular immunity was estimated via interferon-γ produced by CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in response to a SARS-CoV-2 peptide cocktail, with the SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Kit.

Results

Nineteen patients (95%) demonstrated positive serological response following booster vaccine dose (Table 1). Only one female patient in MMF group failed to develop adequate levels of antibodies. The median antibody titers of patients under MMF and anti-TNF was 647.90 BAU/mL (range: 0.71-4795.32 BAU/mL) and 542.98 BAU/mL (range: 4.32-1391.33 BAU/mL) respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Regarding cellular immunity a T-cell response was present in all patients on monotherapy with anti-TNF but only in 7/12 under MMF including the one with negative humoral response.

Conclusion

We report sufficient immunogenicity following a third booster vaccine in patients with RSD on immunossupresive medications coupled by a strong cellular immune response particularly in patients on anti-TNF monotherapy. Perrivaccination management of immunosuppressive therapy represents an important parameter of vaccine administration in patients with RSD.

References

[1]Connolly CM, Teles M, Frey S, et al. Booster-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with autoimmune disease: a case series. Ann Rheum Dis 2022;81:291-293.

[2]Teles M, Connolly CM, Frey S, Chiang TP, Alejo JJ, Boyarsky BJ, Shah AA, Albayda J, Christopher-Stine L, Werbel WA, Segev DL, Paik JJ. Attenuatedresponse to fourth dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with autoimmunedisease: a case series. Ann Rheum Dis 2022 publishes on Jan 17. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221641 Epub ahead of print

[3]Connolly CM, Chiang TP, Boyarsky BJ, et al. Temporary hold of mycophenolate augments humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: a case series. Ann Rheum Dis 2022;81:293-295.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

Untargeted UHPLC-MS metabolic profiling as a valuable tool for the evaluation of eggs quality parameters after dietary supplementation with oregano, thyme, sideritis tea and chamomile on brown laying hens

INTRODUCTION

Bioactive constituents of medicinal-aromatic plants used as feed additives may affect the metabolic profile and oxidative stability of hen eggs.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effects of dietary supplementation with a mixture of dried oregano, thyme, sideritis tea and chamomile on laying hen performance, egg quality parameters, and oxidative stability in the egg yolk were monitored.

METHODS

In this trial 432 hens were allocated in two treatments (unsupplemented vs. supplemented with the mixture) and fed for 42 days. Eggs were collected at the end of the trial period, egg yolk was separated, extracted, and the total phenolic content (TPC) and oxidative stability was measured. Furthermore, LC-MS metabolic profile of eggs was studied and pathway analysis was elaborated in MetaboAnalyst to facilitate annotation of features.

RESULTS

Overall, egg production and feed conversion ratio were not affected by the supplementation. However, eggs from the supplemented treatment showed improved shell thickness and strength, and yolk resistance to oxidation. Moreover, LC-MS metabolomic analysis of egg yolk of supplemented and unsupplemented layers showed significant variations and tight clustering in unsupervised principal component analysis due to different chemical profiling of egg yolk. LC-MS study showed that secondary metabolites of aromatic plants did not transfer into yolk, nevertheless the feed supplementation impacted the pathway metabolism of tyrosine, phenylalanine, propanate, and the biosynthesis of aminoacyl-tRNA, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan.

CONCLUSIONS

The dietary supplementation of layers with a mixture of dried medicinal aromatic plants affected shell thickness and strength, the lipid and protein oxidative stability and increased tyrosine and phenylalanine content in eggs.

Effects of Cornus and Its Mixture with Oregano and Thyme Essential Oils on Dairy Sheep Performance and Milk, Yoghurt and Cheese Quality under Heat Stress

The effect of a diet supplemented with a novel cornus extract, enriched with essential oils of oregano and thyme, on the performance of Chios cross-bred dairy sheep was investigated during the summer period. The plant extracts were prepared using a "green" method based on aqueous extraction. A total of 45 lactating ewes were allocated into three equal groups in a randomized block design. The three groups were fed the same feed allowance, roughage based on Lucerne hay and wheat straw and a concentrate based on cereals and oil cakes (the control diet). The diet of two groups was fortified with cornus extract, with or without oregano and thyme essential oils, at a level 0.515 g of plant extract/essential oils per kg of concentrate. Individual milk yield was recorded weekly and feed refusals were recorded on a pen basis daily, during a six-week period of lactation. Milk samples were analyzed for the chemical composition of protein, fat, lactose and solids-not-fat constituents, somatic cell counts and total viable bacteria counts. Moreover, the milk of each group was used for yoghurt and Feta cheese production. The lipid oxidative stability, protein carbonyl content and fatty acid composition of milk, yoghurt and cheese samples were also evaluated. The results showed that the incorporation of novel plant extracts and essential oils increased the milk production per ewe. Dietary supplementation with cornus extracts and essential oils lowered lipid and protein oxidation in milk, yoghurt and cheese samples, compared to the control. However, diet supplementation with herbal extracts did not affect the fatty acid profile in milk, cheese and yoghurt or the serum biochemical parameters. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with cornus in combination with oregano and thyme has the potential to improve feed utilization and the performance of high-yield dairy Chios cross-bred ewes reared under heat stress.

In vitro Anticoccidial Study of Oregano and Garlic Essential Oils and Effects on Growth Performance, Fecal Oocyst Output, and Intestinal Microbiota in vivo

This study investigated the in vitro effects of Greek oregano and garlic essential oils on inhibition of Eimeria parasites and their in vivo effects on production performance, intestinal bacteria counts, and oocyst output. An inhibition assay was performed in vitro using Eimeria tenella Wisconsin strain sporozoites and Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Intracellular sporozoite invasion was quantified by detection of E. tenella DNA using qPCR from cell monolayers harvested at 2 and 24 h post-infection. Parasite invasion was inhibited by the oregano essential oil at the concentration of 100 μg/ml by 83 or 93% after 2 or 24 h, respectively. Garlic essential oil reached a maximum inhibition of 70% after 24 h with the 50 μg/ml concentration. Normal morphology was observed in MDBK cells exposed to concentrations of 100 μl/ml of garlic or oregano for over 24 h. In the in vivo trial, 180 male broiler chicks (45.3 ± 0.7 g) were allocated into two treatments (6 pens of 15 chicks per treatment). Control treatment was fed commercial diets without antibiotics or anticoccidials. The ORE-GAR treatment was fed the same control diets, further supplemented with a premix (1 g/kg feed) containing the oregano (50 g/kg premix) and garlic (5 g/kg premix) essential oils. At day 37, all birds were slaughtered under commercial conditions, and intestinal samples were collected. ORE-GAR treatment had improved final body weight (1833.9 vs. 1.685.9 g; p < 0.01), improved feed conversion ratio (1.489 vs. 1.569; p < 0.01), and reduced fecal oocyst excretion (day 28: 3.672 vs. 3.989 log oocysts/g, p < 0.01; day 37: 3.475 vs. 4.007 log oocysts/g, p < 0.001). In the caecal digesta, ORE-GAR treatment had lower total anaerobe counts (8.216 vs. 8.824 CFU/g; p < 0.01), whereas in the jejunum digesta the ORE-GAR treatment had higher counts of E. coli (5.030 vs. 3.530 CFU/g; p = 0.01) and Enterobacteriaceae (5.341 vs. 3.829 CFU/g; p < 0.01), and lower counts of Clostridium perfringens (2.555 vs. 2.882 CFU/g; p < 0.01). In conclusion, the combined supplementation of oregano and garlic essential oils had a potent anticoccidial effect in vitro and a growth-promoting effect in broilers reared in the absence of anticoccidial drugs.

Inhibition of extension outgrowth in differentiating rat C6 glioma cells by chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos oxon: effects on microtubule proteins

The aim of this work was to assess the toxic effects of the phosphorothionate insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) and its major in vivo metabolite chlorpyrifos oxon (CPO) on differentiating rat C6 glioma cells. At sublethal concentrations (1-10 microM), both compounds were able to inhibit the development of extensions from C6 cells induced to differentiate by sodium butyrate. Western blot analysis of C6 cell lysates revealed that 4 h exposure to CPF was associated with decreased levels of the cytoskeletal protein MAP1B compared to controls, whereas the levels of the cytoskeletal proteins tubulin and MAP2c were not significantly affected. Western blot analysis of extracts of cells treated with CPO showed a significant, concentration-dependent decrease in the levels of tubulin after 24 h. MAP-1B levels were also significantly decreased. The above changes were not temporally related to acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. These results suggest that both CPF and CPO can exert toxic effects directly on glial cell differentiation and that the latter compound has a potent effect on the microtubule network.