Browsing by Author "Li, Fei"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Coagulopathy as a Prodrome of Cytokine Storm in COVID-19-Infected Patients
    (Frontiers in Medicine, 2020-10) Guo, Hui; Sheng, Ying; Li, Wei; Li, Fei; Xie, Zongyu; Li, Jing; Zhu, Yuhe; Geng, Jian; Liu, Gang; Wang, LeJian; Li, Jing; Wang, Fengchao; School of Nursing
    Background The rapid coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has hit hard on the world and causes panic since the virus causes serious respiratory infectious illness and easily leads to severe conditions such as immune system overactivation or cytokine storm. Due to the limited knowledge of this infectious course of this coronavirus and a lack of an effective treatment for this fatal disease, the mortality remains high. The emergence of cytokine storm in patients on severe condition has been reported as the top reason of the death of patients with COVID-19 infection. However, the causative mechanism of cytokine storm remains elusive. Thus, we aim to observe the association of coagulopathy (D-dimer) with cytokine (i.e. IL-6) and CT imaging in COVID-19 infected patients. Methods In this retrospective observational study, we systematically analyzed the comprehensive clinical laboratory data of COVID-19 positive patients in different illness groups of mild, moderate, severe conditions according to Chinese Clinical Guidance for COVID-19 Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment (7th edition). T tests and Chi-square tests were used for two-group comparisons. One-way ANOVA was used for three-group comparisons. Pearson and spearman correlation coefficients of the D-dimer level with IL-6 and CT imaging were computed at baseline. With regular liquid biopsy approach, D-dimer, IL-6, NLR was recorded repeatedly with time curve to investigate the disease progression, along with CT imaging, and other indicators. Results All the 64 patients were clinically evaluated and classified into three groups of mild (32 cases), moderate (23 cases), severe (9 cases). D-dimer level positively correlated with IL-6 (R=0.5) at the base line when COVID-19 infected patients were admitted. In addition, we observed that D-dimer rises early than cytokine storm represented by IL-6 surge, which suggests that coagulopathy might act as trigger to potentiate cytokines storm. Conclusion Integrated analysis revealed the positive correlation of coagulopathy with cytokine storm in COVID-19 infected patients, D-dimer rise early, which indicated coagulopathy act as a prodrome of cytokine storm. Coagulopathy can be used to monitor early cytokine storm in COVID-19 infected patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effect of Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membrane and Lactoferrin in Infant Formula on Gut Microbiome and Metabolome at 4 Months of Age
    (Oxford University Press, 2021-04-02) Chichlowski, Maciej; Bokulich, Nicholas; Harris, Cheryl L.; Wampler, Jennifer L.; Li, Fei; Berseth, Carol Lynn; Rudolph, Colin; Wu, Steven S.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Background: Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin (LF) are human-milk bioactive components demonstrated to support gastrointestinal and immune development. Significantly fewer diarrhea and respiratory-associated adverse events through 18 mo of age were previously reported in healthy term infants fed a cow-milk-based infant formula with an added source of bovine MFGM and bovine LF through 12 mo of age. Objectives: The aim was to compare microbiota and metabolite profiles in a subset of study participants. Methods: Stool samples were collected at baseline (10-14 d of age) and day 120. Bacterial community profiling was performed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing and alpha and beta diversity were analyzed (QIIME 2). Differentially abundant taxa were determined using linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSE) and visualized (Metacoder). Untargeted stool metabolites were analyzed (HPLC/MS) and expressed as the fold-change between group means (control to MFGM+LF ratio). Results: Alpha diversity increased significantly in both groups from baseline to 4 mo. Subtle group differences in beta diversity were demonstrated at 4 mo (Jaccard distance; R 2 = 0.01, P = 0.042). Specifically, Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides plebeius were more abundant in the MFGM+LF group at 4 mo. Metabolite profile differences for MFGM+LF versus control included lower fecal medium-chain fatty acids, deoxycarnitine, and glycochenodeoxycholate, and some higher fecal carbohydrates and steroids (P < 0.05). After applying multiple test correction, the differences in stool metabolomics were not significant. Conclusions: Addition of bovine MFGM and LF in infant formula was associated with subtle differences in stool microbiome and metabolome by 4 mo of age, including increased prevalence of Bacteroides species. Stool metabolite profiles may be consistent with altered microbial metabolism.