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Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of four up/down-regulated inflammatory miRNAs and their mRNA targets in the serum samples of COVID-19 patients with different grades. Also, we investigated the relative expression of these miRNAs and mRNAs during hospitalization. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 5 mL of blood sample were taken from COVID-19 patients with different grades and during hospitalization from several health centers of Yazd, Tehran, and Zahedan province of Iran from December 20, 2020 to March 2, 2021. The relative expression of miRNAs and mRNAs was evaluated by q-PCR. Results We found that the relative expression of hsa-miR-31-3p, hsa-miR-29a-3p, and hsa-miR-126-3p was significantly decreased and the relative expression of their mRNA targets (ZMYM5, COL5A3, and CAMSAP1) was significantly increased with the increase of disease grade. Conversely, the relative expression of hsa-miR-17-3p was significantly increased and its mRNA target (DICER1) was significantly decreased with the increase of disease grade. This pattern was exactly seen during hospitalization of COVID-19 patients who did not respond to treatment. In COVID-19 patients who responded to treatment, the expression of selected miRNAs and their mRNA targets returned to the normal level. A negative significant correlation was seen between (1) the expression of hsa-miR-31-3p and ZMYM5, (2) hsa-miR-29a-3p and COL5A3, (3) hsa-miR-126-3p and CAMSAP1, and (4) hsa-miR-17-3p and DICER1 in COVID-19 patients with any grade (P  <  0.05) and during hospitalization. Conclusions In this study, we gained a more accurate understanding of the expression of up/down-regulated inflammatory miRNAs in the blood of COVID-19 patients. The obtained data may help us in the diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19. Trial registration: The ethics committee of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. (Ethical Code: IR.ZAUMS.REC.1399.316) was registered for this project.

Introducción: La expresión de miARN específicos y sus dianas de ARNm se modifican en las enfermedades infecciosas. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la expresión de miARN pro-neuroinflamatorios, miARN anti-neuroinflamatorios y sus ARNm dianas en el suero de pacientes con COVID-19 de diferentes grados. Métodos: Se incluyeron en este estudio pacientes con COVID-19 de diferentes grados y se analizó la expresión de miARN pro-neuroinflamatorios, miARN anti-neuroinflamatorios y sus ARNm diana mediante q-PCR. Resultados: La expresión relativa de miARN anti-neuroinflamatorios (mir-21, mir-124 y mir-146a) disminuyó y la expresión relativa de sus ARNm diana (IL-12p53, Stat3 y TRAF6) aumentó. Además, la expresión relativa de miARN pro-neuroinflamatorios (mir-326, mir-155 y mir-27b) aumentó y la expresión relativa de su ARNm diana (PPARS, SOCS1 y CEBPA) disminuyó en pacientes con COVID-19 con aumento del grado de enfermedad. Se observó una correlación negativa significativa entre ARNm de mir-21 e IL-12p53, ARNm de mir-124 y Stat3, ARNm de mir-146a y TRAF6, ARNm de mir-27b y PPARS, ARNm de mir-155 y SOCS1, y entre mir-326 y ARNm de CEBPA en pacientes con COVID-19 (P <0,05). Conclusiones: Este estudio mostró que la expresión relativa de miARN anti-neuroinflamatorios disminuyó y la expresión relativa de sus ARNm diana se incrementó en pacientes con COVID-19 de enfermedad asintomática a crítica. Además, este estudio mostró que la expresión relativa de miARN pro-neuroinflamatorios aumentó y la expresión relativa de su ARNm diana disminuyó en pacientes con COVID-19 de enfermedad asintomática a crítica.

The shape of nanoparticles is an important determinant of their physical and chemical properties, possibly including the little-explored area of their use as antifungal agents. Therefore, we evaluated the in vitro antifungal activities of three different shapes of silver and gold nanostructures, including nanocubes, nanospheres, and nanowires, on Candida albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis, using the microdilution and disk diffusion methods as per the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. We found that silver and gold nanocubes had higher antifungal properties against the test species than nanospheres and nanowires. While some isolates were resistant to silver and gold nanospheres and nanowires, none of the isolates were resistant to silver and gold nanocubes. The occurrence of resistance is a new finding which should be further explored.