Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that patients with moderate to severe asthma belong to a high-risk group that is susceptible to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the association between asthma and COVID-19 has not been well-established. Objective: The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of asthma among patients with COVID-19 in a major US health system. We assessed the clinical characteristics and comorbidities in asthmatic and nonasthmatic patients with COVID-19. We also determined the risk of hospitalization associated with asthma and/or inhaled corticosteroid use. Methods: Medical records of patients with COVID-19 were searched by a computer algorithm (March 1 to April 15, 2020), and chart review was used to validate the diagnosis of asthma and medications prescribed for asthma. All patients had PCRconfirmed COVID-19. Demographic and clinical features were characterized. Regression models were used to assess the associations between asthma and corticosteroid use and the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization. Results: Of 1526 patients identified with COVID-19, 220 (14%) were classified as having asthma. Asthma was not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization (relative risk, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.77-1.19) after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities. The ongoing use of inhaled corticosteroids did not increase the risk of hospitalization in a similar adjusted model (relative risk, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.90-2.15). Conclusions: Despite a substantial prevalence of asthma in our COVID-19 cohort, asthma was not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization. Similarly, the use of inhaled corticosteroids with or without systemic corticosteroids was not associated with COVID-19-related hospitalization. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2020;146:307-14.)

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Cells often move as collective groups during normal embryonic development and wound healing, although the mechanisms governing this type of migration are poorly understood. The Drosophila melanogaster border cells migrate as a cluster during late oogenesis and serve as a powerful in vivo genetic model for collective cell migration. To discover new genes that participate in border cell migration, 64 out of 66 genes that encode PDZ domain-containing proteins were systematically targeted by in vivo RNAi knockdown. The PDZ domain is one of the largest families of protein-protein interaction domains found in eukaryotes. Proteins that contain PDZ domains participate in a variety of biological processes, including signal transduction and establishment of epithelial apical-basal polarity. Targeting PDZ proteins effectively assesses a larger number of genes via the protein complexes and pathways through which these proteins function. par-6, a known regulator of border cell migration, was a positive hit and thus validated the approach. Knockdown of 14 PDZ domain genes disrupted migration with multiple RNAi lines. The candidate genes have diverse predicted cellular functions and are anticipated to provide new insights into the mechanisms that control border cell movement. As a test of this concept, two genes that disrupted migration were characterized in more detail: big bang and the Dlg5 homolog CG6509. We present evidence that Big bang regulates JAK/STAT signaling, whereas Dlg5/CG6509 maintains cluster cohesion. Moreover, these results demonstrate that targeting a selected class of genes by RNAi can uncover novel regulators of collective cell migration.

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