Blood groups and secretory state in COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: Despite the achievements of modern medicine, healthcare system is lacking in knowledge about the new coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. AIM: To establish the relationship of the new coronavirus infection with the blood group according to the AB0 blood system in the Samara region and assess the secretory status of the oral fluid in patients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted from June 2019 to December 2020, and included 89 healthy individuals (38% males, 62% females, average age 24 ± 2.5 years) and 92 patients with COVID-19 (24% males and 76% females, average age 55.68 ± 1.83 years). The material for the study was oral fluid and venous blood. Determination of the blood group according to the AB0 system was carried out by a cross method, the secretory status of saliva according to the I. Vidas method. Descriptive methods were used for statistical data processing (arithmetic mean, error of the mean), calculation of the percentage of a whole number using computer programs IBM SPSS Statistics 23 and Microsoft Office Excel 2010. RESULTS: The distribution by blood group in patients with COVID-19 was as follows: A (II) blood group was found in 43.5%, O (I) in 36.9%, B (III) in 17.4%, AB (IV) in 2.2%. Rh-positive status was determined for 92.4%. Among secretory representatives, antigen A was secreted in 92.1%, and antigen B was secreted in 7.9% of cases. Antigens A and B were absent in the oral fluid of patients with AB (IV) blood group. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the prevalence of A(II) blood group carriers among patients with COVID-19. In this case, the secretion of antigen A into the oral fluid is 92.1%. Group A antigen, being a glycoprotein, can act as a factor facilitating the mechanism of penetration of the SARS-CoV-2 into the human body. The results of the study indicate the need for a personalized approach at the stage of diagnosis and monitoring of the treatment of new coronavirus infection, as well as taking into consideration the blood group to develop preventive measures for COVID-19.

Metabolic “footprints” of the circulating cancer mucins: CA125 in the high-grade ovarian cancer

Mucins are large glycoproteins characterized by the abundant O-linked oligosaccharides (O-glycans) clustered on a protein backbone. Most of the circulating mucins are rapidly cleared by glycan-recognizing hepatic clearance receptors in the liver. Those mucins that remain in the bloodstream are most commonly used as markers in clinical diagnostics. One of such circulating mucins is MUC16; a peptide epitope of which is known as CA125 antigen — a marker for ovarian cancer. Here, using a targeted 1H-NMR profiling of plasma we are exploring a link between the measured CA125 values and the systemic metabolism of the patients within a group with confirmed high-grade ovarian cancer. The study allowed identifying statistically significant associations between the measured values of CA125 epitope and the plasma concentrations of glucose, glutamine, alanine, betaine and serine. The significance of the identified associations for the listed compounds is below 0.01. This, in turn, enables us to hypothesize about a possibility of including the metabolic measures into a composite score of the ovarian cancer based on the CA125 epitope of MUC16.

Molecular serological characteristics of ABO system A antigen

Background. One of the polymorphic antigens in the ABO system is antigen A, which includes many allelic variants with different expression. Immunological methods for determining the blood group of the ABO system have limitations in their use, including due to the presence of weekly expressed antigens in humans. For the correct determination of blood group according to the ABO system, genetic typing is becoming increasingly important. 89 alleles of the ABO*A gene are known. Knowledge of ABO*A gene polymorphisms and their prevalence contributes to the prevention of errors in determining the blood group of donors and recipients.Objective: to describe variants of ABO*A gene alleles in Russians and serological characteristics of the antigens encoded by them.Materials and methods. The blood of 14,000 people was examined. The blood group was determined using anti-A, anti- Aweak, anti-B, lectin (anti-A1) and gel cards. A molecular study of ABO*A gene polymorphisms was conducted in 151 people. Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers and direct Sanger sequencing were used.Results. 7 different ABO*A alleles were detected, including the ABO*A1.01 and ABO*A1.02 alleles. In 118 individuals with a weak A antigen, the ABO*A2.01 allele was the most frequent (87.29 %). Rare alleles ABO*A2.06 (5.93 %), ABO*AW.06 (4.23 %), ABO*A2.09 (0.85 %) and ABO*Ax (1.70 %) were found. Serological characteristics of A antigens variants depending on genotypes are described, variants A1, A2, A3 and very weak A were detected. Extraagglutinins α1 were absent in all persons with weakened A antigen.Conclusion. Small or mixed agglutination with Coliclones or red blood cell stratification in the gel suggest the presence of antigen A with weakened expression. Modern molecular methods make it possible to identify rare gene alleles and genotypes. Erythrocyte genomics helps to resolve the ambiguity of the serological results allows understanding the true mechanisms of particular phenotype formation and makes a contribution to ensuring the immunological safety of blood components transfusions.

How to use Donath-Landsteiner test to diagnose paroxysmal cold haemoglobinuria (PCH)

Paroxysmal cold haemoglobinuria (PCH) accounts for around a third of cases of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia in children. PCH is caused by an autoantibody that fixes complement to red cells at low temperatures and dissociates at warmer temperatures (a biphasic haemolysin), triggering complement-mediated intravascular haemolysis. Named the Donath-Landsteiner (D-L) antibody after its discoverers, it is usually formed in response to infection and demonstrates specificity for the ubiquitous red cell P-antigen. A D-L test can be used to detect the presence of the D-L autoantibody in the patients’ serum. Here we discuss the use of the D-L test in identifying PCH in a 2-year-old boy who presented with haemolytic anaemia. A summary of the key information can be found in the infographic.

PKM PENDETEKSI KADAR GULA DARAH BERBASIS MIKROKONTROLER DI PUSKESMAS SAMATA GOWA

Darah merupakan alat utama transportasi, distribusi dan sirkulasi dalam tubuh. Volume darah manusia sekitar 7% dan 10% berat normal manusia dan berjumlah sekitar 5 liter. Keadaan jumlah darah pada tiap-tiap orang tidak sama, bergantung pada usia, pekerjaan serta keadaan jantung dan pembuluh darah. Program pengabdian ini bertujuan untuk merancang sebuah alat yang dapat mengukur kadar gula darah pada manusia berbasis elektronik untuk memudahkan pengujian pada manusia tanpa melukai jari (NON-INVASIVE). Pengujian golongan darah manusia pada alat ini menggunakan sistem A-B-O yang dimana sistem A-B-O digunakan untuk menunjukan adanya salah satu atau keduanya, atau tidak satupun dari antigen A dan B dalam eritrorisit. Alat yang dirancang terdiri dari dua pasang sensor cahaya, yang dibangun dari komponen IR LED dan PHOTODIODA, dan sistem pengontrolnya dari Mikrokontroller ESP32. Alat tersebut akan mendeteksi intensitas cahaya yang menembus jari manusia. Alat yang dirancang untuk mendeteksi kadar gula darah dan di tampilkan pada LCD, yang dimana ke akuratan alat yang di rancang akan di bandingkan dengan pembacaan alat pendeteksi kadar gula darah dengan metode INVASIVE. Hasil dari perbandingan metode invasive (GlucoDR) dan metode non-invasive menunjukan perbedaan ± 5-7%.