New cases of the novel coronavirus, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are increasing around the world. Currently, health care services are mainly focused on responding to and controlling the unique challenges of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These changes, along with the higher susceptibility of patients with cancer to infections, have profound effects on other critical aspects of care and pose a serious challenge for the treatment of such patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to provide strategies for managing the treatment of patients with cancer to limit COVID-19-associated risks at this difficult time. The present study set out to summarize the latest research on epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of COVID-19. We also address some of the current challenges associated with the management of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide practical guidance to clinically deal with these challenges.

In this review, the numerous possible mechanisms that provide supportive evidence for how colonic dysbiosis denotes metabolic dysfunction, dysregulates glucose homeostasis and leads to diabetes mellitus and related metabolic disorders are defined. Information was gathered from articles identified by systematic reviews and searches using Google, PubMed and Scopus. The composition of the colonic microbiota plays an integral role in maintaining host homeostasis by affecting both metabolic activities and underlying functional gene transcription in individuals with diabetes and related metabolic disorders. Increased colonic microbiome‐derived concentrations of lipopolysaccharides, also known as ‘metabolic endotoxaemia’, as well as alterations in bile acid metabolism, short‐chain fatty acids, intestinal hormones and branched‐chain amino acid secretion have been associated with the diverse production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and the recruitment of inflammatory cells. It has been shown that changes to intestinal bacterial composition are significant even in early childhood and are associated with the pathogenesis of both types of diabetes. We hope that an improved understanding of related mechanisms linking the colonic microbiome with glucose metabolism might provide for innovative therapeutic approaches that would bring the ideal intestinal ecosystem to a state of optimal health, thus preventing and treating diabetes and related metabolic disorders.

This study was conducted to examine morphological, genotypic, and phenotypic alterations occurring in cultured adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells when encapsulated with different concentrations of fibrin glue. Cultivated adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells were encapsulated with different concentrations of fibrin glue, namely FG1 (42 mg/dl), FG2 (84 mg/dl), FG3 (124 mg/dl), FG4 (210 mg/dl), followed by the evaluation of genetic and cytomorphological changes and protein expression. Cultured adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells showed dendritiform morphology during the early days of encapsulation with fibrin glue. Moreover, an increasing inhibitory effect on cell growth was observed with increasing concentrations of fibrin glue. At the transcriptional level, the expression of MMP2, PAX6, and ITGB1 in FG1-encapsulated cells was significantly higher than that in other treated groups; however, the expression of ACTA2 was lower in all fibrin glue-encapsulated groups compared to that in the controls. Immunocytochemistry showed that FG2-encapsulated cells expressed cytokeratin 8/18, RPE65, and ZO-1 proteins, but not PAX6. In conclusion, fibrin glue at a concentration of 84 mg/dl allows proper encapsulation of adult human retinal pigment epithelial cells, while preserving the morphometric, genotypic, and phenotypic features of the cells. This three-dimensional biopolymer can be considered a reliable vehicle for retinal pigment epithelium cell transplantation in cell-based therapies.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains a major complication following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). T cell response plays a critical role in inducing long‐term immunity against CMV infection/reactivation that impairs during HSCT. Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) via transferring CMV‐specific T cells from a seropositive donor to the recipient can accelerate virus‐specific immune reconstitution. ACT, as an alternative approach, can restore protective antiviral T cell immunity in patients. Different manufacturing protocols have been introduced to isolate and expand specific T cells for the ACT clinical setting. Nevertheless, HLA restriction, long‐term manufacturing process, risk of alloreactivity, and CMV seropositive donor availability have limited ACT broad applicability. Genetic engineering has developed new strategies to produce TCR‐modified T cells for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infectious disease. In this review, we presented current strategies required for ACT in posttransplant CMV infection. We also introduced novel gene‐modified T cell discoveries in the context of ACT for CMV infection. It seems that these innovations are enabling to improvement and development of ACT utilization to combat posttransplant CMV infection.

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