Immunological considerations for laboratory staff and COVID-19 biosafety

The vulnerability of healthcare and laboratory to potential infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)virus has thus far been analyzed through the lens of the acute phase of the pan-demic,including remote-based work,as well as emergency settings that are different from routine healthcare operations.However,as lockdowns ease and activities return to an identifiable pre-pandemic routine,the safety considerations also require to shift accordingly.As laboratory workers are likely to continue being exposed to unidentified SARS-CoV-2 positive samples through routine blood collection and processing opera-tions,coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)might have to be re-considered as an occupational disease within this context.Additionally,as per many such occupational diseases,a surveillance system is implemented for the medium-and long-term.This manuscript presents the views on the possible surveillance scenarios for labora-tory staff,viewed from an immunological and biosafety perspective.

Effects of 60-day bed rest with and without exercise on -ellular and humoral immunological parameters

Exercise at regular intervals is assumed to have a positive effect on immune functions. Conversely, after spaceflight and under simulated weightlessness （e.g., bed rest）, immune functions can be suppressed. We aimed to assess the effects of simulated weightlessness （Second Berlin BedRest Study; BBR2-2） on immunological parameters and to investigate the effect of exercise （resistive exercise with and without vibration） on these changes. Twenty-four physically and mentally healthy male volunteers （20-45 years） performed resistive vibration exercise （n= 7）, resistance exercise without vibration （n=8） or no exercise （n=9） within 60 days of bed rest. Blood samples were taken 2 days before bed rest, on days 19 and 60 of bed rest. Composition of immune cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cytokines and neuroendocrine parameters were analyzed by Luminex technology and ELISA/RIA in plasma. General changes over time were identified by paired t-test, and exercise-dependent effects by pairwise repeated measurements （analysis of variance （ANOVA））. With all subjects pooled, the number of granulocytes, natural killer T cells, hematopoietic stem cells and CD45RA and CD25 co-expressing T cells increased and the number of monocytes decreased significantly during the study; the concentration of eotaxin decreased significantly. Different impacts of exercise were seen for lymphocytes, B cells, especially the IgD＋ subpopulation of B cells and the concentrations of IP-IO, RANTES and DHEA-S. We conclude that prolonged bed rest significantly impacts immune cell populations and cytokine concentrations. Exercise was able to specifically influence different immunological parameters. In summary, our data fit the hypothesis of immunoprotection by exercise and may point toward even superior effects by resistive vibration exercise.

Monitoring of clinical islet transplantation

Islet transplantation has recently emerged as one of the most promising therapeutic approaches to improving glycometabolic control in diabetic patients. The Edmonton trials demonstrated a marked improvement in the short-term rate of success of islet transplantation, with an 80% rate of insulin-independence being at 1 year after transplantation, as reported by several institutions worldwide. Unfortunately, this rate consistently decreases to 10% by 5 years post-transplantation.