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We previously demonstrated that the lungs of deceased COVID-19 patients were filled with a clear hydrogel consisting of hyaluronan (HA). In this translational study, we investigated the role of HA at all stages of COVID-19 disease to map the consequences of elevated HA on morbidity and identify the mechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced HA production. A reduced alveolar surface area was observed in the lungs of deceased COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls, as visualized by a 3D rendering of lung morphology using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. We confirmed the presence of HA in lung biopsies and found large quantities of proinflammatory fragmented HA. The association of systemic HA in blood plasma and disease severity was assessed in patients with mild (WHO Clinical Progression Scale, WHO-CPS, 1–5) and severe COVID-19 (WHO-CPS, 6–9) during the acute and convalescent phases and related to lung function. We found that systemic levels of HA were high during acute COVID-19 disease, remained elevated during convalescence, and were associated with a reduced diffusion capacity. In vitro 3D-lung models, differentiated from primary human bronchial epithelial cells, were used to study the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on HA metabolism, and transcriptomic analyses revealed a dysregulation of HA synthases and hyaluronidases, both contributing to increased HA in apical secretions. Furthermore, corticosteroid treatment reduced the inflammation and downregulated HA synthases. Our findings demonstrate that HA plays a role in COVID-19 morbidity and that sustained elevated HA concentrations may contribute to long-term respiratory impairment.

Background: Penile squamous cel carcinoma (pSCC) cancer has been considered a rare tumour in the western world. Although some conflicting results, the most recent meta-analyses report an increase in its incidence and in the percentage of HPV(+) cases in numerous western countries. This scenario mirrors what observed for HPV(+) oropharynx cancer and could be explained by changes in sexual practice and in exposure of men to HPV. In this study, we analyzed pathological features and HPV-DNA prevalence in a contemporary, western pSCC cohort. Design: This study enrolled 206 patients with pSCC from Örebro University. DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples, and HPV-DNA genotyping were performed using PCR method Anyplex II HPV28. In a subset of cases, HPV-DNA was also assessed in penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PeIN), lymph node metastasis (LnM) or both (51%, 11.6% and 18.9%). All the cases have been histologically re-classified according to the WHO 2016 classification of pSCC. Results: HPV -DNA was detected in 92/206 (44.7%) pSCC, 78/141 (55.3%) PeIN and 28/61 LnM (45.9%), respectively. HPV16 was the predominant type, representing 78.3% for pSCC, 79.5% for PeIN and 96.4% for LnM. In 7.8% of the cases, more than a HPV genotype has been detected in the same specimen or in different specimens of the same patients. Curiously, we found 8.5% of cases (14/164) with discordance of HPV-DNA detection in different specimens from the same patient (pSCC, PeIN and/or /LnM). In HPV(+) pSCC the predominant histologic subtype was “warty” (41.3%); in HPV(-) pSCC it was “usual” (65.8%). For PeIN, “warty” was the predominant subtype in HPV(+) PeIN (39.7%) and “differentiated” in HPV(-) PeIN (79.4%). For pSCC, we observed disagreement between histology and HPV status in 23.8% of cases: 13.1% HPV(+)/Non-HPV -related histology and 10.7% HPV(-)/HPV-related histology. Conclusions: HPV -DNA was observed in a relevant portion of pSCC and PeIN in our case series, confirming an

Funding Agency:Region Örebro Län