Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.8
5.6
Journals
IJMS
Special Issues
Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases
ijms-logo
Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 24168

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Manuel Scimeca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: environmental pollution; oncology; cardiovascular diseases; electron microscopy; histology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Orazio Schillaci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Interests: molecular imaging; precision oncology; targeted therapy; theranostics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Alessandro Mauriello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Interests: pathology; atherosclerosis; cancer prognostic bio-markers; calcification; inflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Nicoletta Urbano

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Rome, Italy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic is an unprecedented health emergency that confronts us with a radical change in the management of our work routines and daily lives. 

The initial clinical sign of SARS‐CoV‐2‐related disease, which facilitated case detection, was pneumonia. More recent reports also describe gastrointestinal symptoms and asymptomatic infections, especially among young children. However, studies indicate several possible other pathological conditions associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, such as heart injury, vasculitis, kidney disfunction, and thrombocytopenia.

In this scenario, the combination of imaging diagnostic data and pathological features of SARS‐CoV‐2‐related disease can lay the foundation for developing new diagnostic and therapeutic protocols for the management of SARS‐CoV‐2 patients.

In addition, the collaboration between imaging diagnostics departments and pathology can provide essential information about the molecular mechanisms involved in the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

Starting from these considerations, the aim of this Special Issue is to publish the latest discoveries and bring together researchers and clinicians working in the field of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection by combining imaging diagnostic and pathological data. Topics will include (but are not limited to) the following: 

  • Management of SARS‐CoV‐2 patients: from imaging diagnostics to digital pathology;
  • Role of anatomic pathology and nuclear medicine in the management of SARS‐CoV‐2 patients;
  • Early prognostic/predictive markers of SARS‐CoV‐2-related disease;
  • Pathological lesions caused by SARS‐CoV‐2;
  • New molecular prognostic/predictive factors for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection;
  • New methods to match radiological, MRI, PET, and SPECT images to histological slides in SARS‐CoV‐2 patients;
  • Possible molecular targets for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection;
  • Imaging biomarkers for the follow-up of SARS‐CoV‐2 patients;
  • Artificial intelligence as “linking” between anatomic pathology and imaging diagnostics in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.
Dr. Manuel Scimeca
Dr. Orazio Schillaci
Prof. Dr. Alessandro Mauriello
Dr. Nicoletta Urbano

Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • SARS‐CoV‐2‐related diseases
  • Imaging diagnostic
  • Pathology
  • Biomarkers
  • molecular targets
  • Nuclear Medicine

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

13 pages, 957 KiB  
Article
Body Composition Findings by Computed Tomography in SARS-CoV-2 Patients: Increased Risk of Muscle Wasting in Obesity
by Paola Gualtieri, Carmela Falcone, Lorenzo Romano, Sebastiano Macheda, Pierpaolo Correale, Pietro Arciello, Nicola Polimeni and Antonino De Lorenzo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(13), 4670; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21134670 - 30 Jun 2020
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 4265
Abstract
Obesity is a characteristic of COVID-19 patients and the risk of malnutrition can be underestimated due to excess of fat: a paradoxical danger. Long ICU hospitalization exposes patients to a high risk of wasting and loss of lean body mass. The complex management [...] Read more.
Obesity is a characteristic of COVID-19 patients and the risk of malnutrition can be underestimated due to excess of fat: a paradoxical danger. Long ICU hospitalization exposes patients to a high risk of wasting and loss of lean body mass. The complex management precludes the detection of anthropometric parameters for the definition and monitoring of the nutritional status. The use of imaging diagnostics for body composition could help to recognize and treat patients at increased risk of wasting with targeted pathways. COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU underwent computed tomography within 24 h and about 20 days later, to evaluate the parameters of the body and liver composition. The main results were the loss of the lean mass index and a greater increase in liver attenuation in obese subjects. These could be co-caused by COVID-19, prolonged bed rest, the complex medical nutritional therapy, and the starting condition of low-grade inflammation of the obese. The assessment of nutritional status, with body composition applied to imaging diagnostics and metabolic profiles in COVID-19, will assist in prescribing appropriate medical nutritional therapy. This will reduce recovery times and complications caused by frailty. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

19 pages, 1137 KiB  
Review
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Disease Modelling Using Stem Cell Technology and Organoids
by Marta Trevisan, Silvia Riccetti, Alessandro Sinigaglia and Luisa Barzon
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(5), 2356; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052356 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4771
Abstract
In this Review, we briefly describe the basic virology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, highlighting how stem cell technology and organoids can contribute to the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 cell tropisms and the mechanism of disease in the human host, supporting and clarifying findings from [...] Read more.
In this Review, we briefly describe the basic virology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, highlighting how stem cell technology and organoids can contribute to the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 cell tropisms and the mechanism of disease in the human host, supporting and clarifying findings from clinical studies in infected individuals. We summarize here the results of studies, which used these technologies to investigate SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in different organs. Studies with in vitro models of lung epithelia showed that alveolar epithelial type II cells, but not differentiated lung alveolar epithelial type I cells, are key targets of SARS-CoV-2, which triggers cell apoptosis and inflammation, while impairing surfactant production. Experiments with human small intestinal organoids and colonic organoids showed that the gastrointestinal tract is another relevant target for SARS-CoV-2. The virus can infect and replicate in enterocytes and cholangiocytes, inducing cell damage and inflammation. Direct viral damage was also demonstrated in in vitro models of human cardiomyocytes and choroid plexus epithelial cells. At variance, endothelial cells and neurons are poorly susceptible to viral infection, thus supporting the hypothesis that neurological symptoms and vascular damage result from the indirect effects of systemic inflammatory and immunological hyper-responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 574 KiB  
Review
Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases
by Manuel Scimeca, Nicoletta Urbano, Rita Bonfiglio, Manuela Montanaro, Elena Bonanno, Orazio Schillaci and Alessandro Mauriello
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(18), 6960; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186960 - 22 Sep 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4011
Abstract
In December 2019, physicians reported numerous patients showing pneumonia of unknown origin in the Chinese region of Wuhan. Following the spreading of the infection over the world, The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 declared the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome [...] Read more.
In December 2019, physicians reported numerous patients showing pneumonia of unknown origin in the Chinese region of Wuhan. Following the spreading of the infection over the world, The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 declared the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak a global pandemic. The scientific community is exerting an extraordinary effort to elucidate all aspects related to SARS-CoV-2, such as the structure, ultrastructure, invasion mechanisms, replication mechanisms, or drugs for treatment, mainly through in vitro studies. Thus, the clinical in vivo data can provide a test bench for new discoveries in the field of SARS-CoV-2, finding new solutions to fight the current pandemic. During this dramatic situation, the normal scientific protocols for the development of new diagnostic procedures or drugs are frequently not completely applied in order to speed up these processes. In this context, interdisciplinarity is fundamental. Specifically, a great contribution can be provided by the association and interpretation of data derived from medical disciplines based on the study of images, such as radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology. Therefore, here, we highlighted the most recent histopathological and imaging data concerning the SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung and other human organs such as the kidney, heart, and vascular system. In addition, we evaluated the possible matches among data of radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology departments in order to support the intense scientific work to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In this regard, the development of artificial intelligence algorithms that are capable of correlating these clinical data with the new scientific discoveries concerning SARS-CoV-2 might be the keystone to get out of the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

29 pages, 2309 KiB  
Review
COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Lysosomes and Lysosomotropism Implicate New Treatment Strategies and Personal Risks
by Markus Blaess, Lars Kaiser, Martin Sauer, René Csuk and Hans-Peter Deigner
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(14), 4953; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21144953 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 7177
Abstract
In line with SARS and MERS, the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest challenges in medicine and health care worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 provides numerous therapeutic targets, each of them promising, but not leading to the success of therapy to date. Neither an [...] Read more.
In line with SARS and MERS, the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest challenges in medicine and health care worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 provides numerous therapeutic targets, each of them promising, but not leading to the success of therapy to date. Neither an antiviral nor an immunomodulatory therapy in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 or pre-exposure prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 has proved to be effective. In this review, we try to close the gap and point out the likely relationships among lysosomotropism, increasing lysosomal pH, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and disease process, and we deduce an approach for the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19, and cytokine release syndrome (CRS)/cytokine storm triggered by bacteria or viruses. Lysosomotropic compounds affect prominent inflammatory messengers (e.g., IL-1B, CCL4, CCL20, and IL-6), cathepsin-L-dependent viral entry of host cells, and products of lysosomal enzymes that promote endothelial stress response in systemic inflammation. As supported by recent clinical data, patients who have already taken lysosomotropic drugs for other pre-existing conditions likely benefit from this treatment in the COVID-19 pandemic. The early administration of a combination of antivirals such as remdesivir and lysosomotropic drugs, such as the antibiotics teicoplanin or dalbavancin, seems to be able to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and transition to COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

13 pages, 5590 KiB  
Hypothesis
Drugs, Metabolites, and Lung Accumulating Small Lysosomotropic Molecules: Multiple Targeting Impedes SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Progress to COVID-19
by Markus Blaess, Lars Kaiser, Oliver Sommerfeld, René Csuk and Hans-Peter Deigner
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(4), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22041797 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3294
Abstract
Lysosomotropism is a biological characteristic of small molecules, independently present of their intrinsic pharmacological effects. Lysosomotropic compounds, in general, affect various targets, such as lipid second messengers originating from lysosomal enzymes promoting endothelial stress response in systemic inflammation; inflammatory messengers, such as IL-6; [...] Read more.
Lysosomotropism is a biological characteristic of small molecules, independently present of their intrinsic pharmacological effects. Lysosomotropic compounds, in general, affect various targets, such as lipid second messengers originating from lysosomal enzymes promoting endothelial stress response in systemic inflammation; inflammatory messengers, such as IL-6; and cathepsin L-dependent viral entry into host cells. This heterogeneous group of drugs and active metabolites comprise various promising candidates with more favorable drug profiles than initially considered (hydroxy) chloroquine in prophylaxis and treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections/Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) triggered by bacterial or viral infections. In this hypothesis, we discuss the possible relationships among lysosomotropism, enrichment in lysosomes of pulmonary tissue, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and transition to COVID-19. Moreover, we deduce further suitable approved drugs and active metabolites based with a more favorable drug profile on rational eligibility criteria, including readily available over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Benefits to patients already receiving lysosomotropic drugs for other pre-existing conditions underline their vital clinical relevance in the current SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Imaging Diagnostics and Pathology in SARS-CoV-2-Related Diseases)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop