Biology subjects

Frost, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Frost, P..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to acute infection with dynamic cellular and inflammatory flux in the lung that varies across nonhuman primate species

There are no known cures or vaccines for COVID-19, the defining pandemic of this era. Animal models are essential to fast track new interventions and nonhuman primate (NHP) models of other infectious diseases have proven extremely valuable. Here we compare SARS-CoV-2 infection in three species of experimentally infected NHPs (rhesus macaques, baboons, and marmosets). During the first 3 days, macaques developed clinical signatures of viral infection and systemic inflammation, coupled with early evidence of viral replication and mild-to-moderate interstitial and alveolar pneumonitis, as well as extra-pulmonary pathologies. Cone-beam CT scans showed evidence of moderate pneumonia, which progressed over 3 days. Longitudinal studies showed that while both young and old macaques developed early signs of COVID-19, both groups recovered within a two-week period. Recovery was characterized by low-levels of viral persistence in the lung, suggesting mechanisms by which individuals with compromised immune systems may be susceptible to prolonged and progressive COVID-19. The lung compartment contained a complex early inflammatory milieu with an influx of innate and adaptive immune cells, particularly interstitial macrophages, neutrophils and plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and a prominent Type I-interferon response. While macaques developed moderate disease, baboons exhibited prolonged shedding of virus and extensive pathology following infection; and marmosets demonstrated a milder form of infection. These results showcase in critical detail, the robust early cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, which are not sterilizing and likely impact development of antibody responses. Thus, various NHP genera recapitulate heterogeneous progression of COVID-19. Rhesus macaques and baboons develop different, quantifiable disease attributes making them immediately available essential models to test new vaccines and therapies.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2017

Health Status By Gender, Hair Color, And Eye Color: Red-Haired Women Are The Most Divergent

BackgroundRed hair is associated with pain sensitivity, and more so in women than in men. Hair redness may thus interact with a female-specific factor. We tested this hypothesis on a large sample of Czech and Slovak respondents. They were asked about the natural redness and darkness of their hair, their natural eye color, their physical and mental health (24 categories), and other personal attributes (height, weight, number of children, lifelong number of sexual partners, frequency of smoking).\n\nResultsWe found that red-haired women did worse than other women in ten health categories and better in only three. In particular, they were more prone to colorectal, cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancer. Cancer risk increased steadily with increasing hair redness except for the reddest shade. Red-haired men showed a balanced pattern of health effects, doing better than other men in three categories and worse in three. Number of children was the only category where both male and female redheads did better than other respondents. We also confirmed earlier findings that red hair is naturally more frequent in women than in men.\n\nConclusionRed-haired women had higher fecundity and sexual attractiveness, but this selective advantage seems offset by worse health outcomes and therefore lower viability. The resulting equilibrium between these two counterbalancing forces might explain why red hair has remained less common than other hair and eye colors. Of the new hair and eye colors, red hair diverges the most from the ancestral state of black hair and brown eyes. It is the most sexually dimorphic variant, not only in population frequency but also in health outcomes. This sexual dimorphism seems to have resulted from a selection pressure that acted primarily on early European women and which led to a general and apparently rapid diversification of hair and eye colors.

evolutionary biology↗