MMP-9 as Prognostic Marker for Brain Tumours: A Comparative Study on Serum-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) degrades the extracellular matrix, contributes to tumour cell invasion and metastasis, and its elevated level in brain tumour tissues indicates poor prognosis. High-risk tissue biopsy can be replaced by liquid biopsy; however, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) prevents tumour-associated components from entering the peripheral blood, making the development of blood-based biomarkers challenging. Therefore, we examined the MMP-9 content of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs)—which can cross the BBB and are stable in body fluids—to characterise tumours with different invasion capacity. From four patient groups (glioblastoma multiforme, brain metastases of lung cancer, meningioma, and lumbar disc herniation as controls), 222 serum-derived sEV samples were evaluated. After isolating and characterising sEVs, their MMP-9 content was measured by ELISA and assessed statistically (correlation, paired t-test, Welch’s test, ANOVA, ROC). We found that the MMP-9 content of sEVs is independent of gender and age, but is affected by surgical intervention, treatment, and recurrence. We found a relation between low MMP-9 level in sEVs (<28 ppm) and improved survival (8-month advantage) of glioblastoma patients, and MMP-9 levels showed a positive correlation with aggressiveness. These findings suggest that vesicular MMP-9 level might be a useful prognostic marker for brain tumours

Epidemiology and clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized children across four waves in Hungary: A retrospective, comparative study from March 2020 to December 2021

Background and AimsFrom 2019 till the present, infections induced by the novel coronavirus and its mutations have posed a new challenge for healthcare. However, comparative studies on pediatric infections throughout waves are few. During four different pandemic waves, we intended to investigate the clinical and epidemiological characteristic of the pediatric population hospitalized for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus infection. MethodsBetween March 2020 and December 2021, we performed our retrospective research on children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the University of Szeged. We analyzed the data of all patients who required hospitalization due to positive results of SARS-CoV-2 tests (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test or rapid antigen test). Data analysis included demographic data, medical history, clinical findings, length of hospitalization, and complications, using medical records. ResultsIn this study, data from 358 coronavirus-infected children were analyzed. The most affected age group was children over 1 month and under 1 year (30.2%). The highest number of cases was recorded in the fourth wave (53.6%). Fever (65.6%), cough (51.4%), nasal discharge (35.3%), nausea and vomiting (31.3%), and decreased oral intake (28.9%) were the most common symptoms. The most common complications were dehydration (50.5%), pneumonia (14.9%), and bronchitis/bronchiolitis (14.5%). Based on RR values, there are considerable differences in the prevalence of the symptoms and complications between the different age groups and waves. Cox proportional hazard model analyzes showed that fever and tachypnoea had a relevant effect on days to recovery. ConclusionsWe found trends similar to those previously published, overall statistics. The proportion of children requiring hospitalization varied from wave to wave, with the fourth wave affecting the Hungarian child population the most. Our findings suggest that hospitalization time is unrelated to age, but that certain symptoms (fever and tachypnoea) are associated with longer hospitalization. The onset of certain symptoms may differ by age group

Small Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Serum May Serve as Signal-Enhancers for the Monitoring of CNS Tumors

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