RI-MUHC ANNUAL REPORT 2021
YEAR IN REVIEW
TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH IN RESPIRATORY DISEASES (RESP) PROGRAM
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Harnessing the power of innate immunity
Stem cells are the marrow of the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic. A study led by Maziar Divangahi, PhD, found that not only can stem cells be targeted for protective vaccination, but they can also be hijacked by a pathogen to increase TB virulence.
Understanding how to harness the power of innate immunity is a promising novel avenue, not only for TB, but for other infectious diseases like COVID-19. Cell.
Sleep apnea treatment reduces heart problems in patients with prediabetes, a new study finds
Dr. Sushmita Pamidi’s team found that continuous positive airway pressure treatment at night can lower daytime resting heart rate in patients with prediabetes who have obstructive sleep apnea, reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease. J Am Heart Assoc.
Triage test for pulmonary tuberculosis
Deep learning-based radiological image analysis met WHO-recommended minimal accuracy for pulmonary tuberculosis triage tests. This could facilitate use of chest X‑rays in resource-limited settings.
RESP Program researchers Faiz Ahmad Khan, MD, MPH (first author), Andrea Benedetti, PhD, and Dick Menzies, MD, were co-authors of the study. Lancet Digit Health.
Selected RESP Program news links
- Sleep apnea treatment reduces heart problems in patients with prediabetes, a new study finds
- Stem cells are the marrow of the TB pandemic, which still kills one person every 22 seconds
- Old drug, new therapy: RI-MUHC-sponsored phase III clinical trial ready to test repurposed dapsone to tone down lung inflammation caused by COVID-19: Reformulated and patented version of well-known generic drug could prove to be a quick, safe and cost-eff
- Nip it in the bud: New study will attack SARS-Cov2 where it multiplies RI-MUHC researchers initiate a clinical trial of ciclesonide to possibly prevent mild cases of COVID-19 from worsening
- Could a different testing strategy reduce healthcare workers’ isolation after unprotected exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19?
- Saliva samples for COVID-19 testing: as good as nasopharyngeal swabs, but cheaper
- MORE RESP Program news
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Mayara Lisboa Bastos, Gamuchirai Tavaziva, Syed Kumail Abidi, Jonathon R. Campbell, Louis Patrick Haraoui, James Cameron Johnston, Zhiyi Lan, Stephanie Law, Emily MacLean, Anete Trajman, Dick Menzies, Andrea L. Benedetti, Faiz Ahmad Ahmad Khan. Diagnostic accuracy of serological tests for covid-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis. The BMJ 370:m2516, 2020. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2516.
Faiz Ahmad Ahmad Khan, Arman Majidulla, Gamuchirai Tavaziva, Ahsana Nazish, Syed Kumail Abidi, Andrea L. Benedetti, Dick. Menzies, James Cameron Johnston, Aamir Javed Khan, Saima Saeed. Chest x-ray analysis with deep learning-based software as a triage test for pulmonary tuberculosis: a prospective study of diagnostic accuracy for culture-confirmed disease. The Lancet Digital Health 2(11): e573-e581, 2020. doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30221-1.
Nargis Khan, Jeffrey Downey, Joaquín Sanz, Eva Kaufmann, Birte Blankenhaus, Alain Pacis, Erwan Pernet, Eisha Ahmed, Sílvia Cardoso, Anastasia Nijnik, Bruce D. Mazer, Christopher M. Sassetti, Marcel A. Behr, Miguel Parreira Soares, Luis B. Barreiro, Maziar Divangahi. M. tuberculosis Reprograms Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Limit Myelopoiesis and Impair Trained Immunity. Cell. 183(3): 752-770.e22, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.062.
Gijs Ijpma, Linda Hussein Kachmar, Alice Panariti, Oleg S. Matusovsky, Dara G. Torgerson, Andrea L. Benedetti, Anne Marie Lauzon. Intrapulmonary airway smooth muscle is hyperreactive with a distinct proteome in asthma. European Respiratory Journal 56(1):1902178, 2020. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02178-2019.
Benjamin M. Smith, Nan Zhao, Ron Olivenstein, Catherine Lemiëre, Qutayba A. Hamid, James G. Martin. Asthma and fixed airflow obstruction: Long-term trajectories suggest distinct endotypes. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 51(1): 39-48, 2021. doi: 10.1111/cea.13714.
Rui Sun, Joyce Hojin Jang, Anne Marie Lauzon, James G. Martin. Interferon amplifies airway smooth muscle-mediated CD4+ T cell recruitment by promoting the secretion of C–X–Cmotif chemokine receptor 3 ligands. FASEB Journal 35(1):e21228, 2021. doi: 10.1096/fj.202001480R.
Raphieal Newbold, Andrea L. Benedetti, R. John Kimoff, Sara J. Meltzer, Natasha Garfield, Kaberi Dasgupta, Robert Gagnon, Lorraine Lavigne, Allen E. Olha, Evelyne Rey, Sushmita Pamidi. Maternal Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Pregnancy and Increased Nocturnal Glucose Levels in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Chest 159(1): 356-365, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.07.014.
Dorival Martins, Geoffrey A. McKay, Ann M. English, Dao Nguyen. Sublethal Paraquat Confers Multidrug Tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Inducing Superoxide Dismutase Activity and Lowering Envelope Permeability. Frontiers in Microbiology 11:576708, 2020. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.576708.
Mayara Lisboa Bastos, Jonathon R. Campbell, Olivia Oxlade, Mênonli Adjobimey, Anete Trajman, Rovina Ruslami, Heejin Kim, Joseph Obeng Baah, Brett G. Toelle, Richard Long, Vernon H. Hoeppner, Kevin R. Elwood, Hamdan H. Al- Jahdali, Lika Apriani, Andrea L. Benedetti, Kevin J. Schwartzman, Dick Menzies. Health System Costs of Treating Latent Tuberculosis Infection With Four Months of Rifampin Versus Nine Months of Isoniazid in Different Settings. Annals of Internal Medicine 173(3): 169-178, 2020. doi: 10.7326/M19-3741.
Sharon Harel, Veronica Sanchez-Gonzalez, Raquel Echavarria, Dominique Mayaki, Sabah N.A. Hussain. Roles of miR-640 and Zinc Finger Protein 91 (ZFP91) in Angiopoietin-1-Induced In Vitro Angiogenesis. Cells 9(7):1602, 2020. doi: 0.3390/cells9071602.
Sushmita Pamidi, Florian Chapotot, Kristen Elizabeth Wroblewski, Harry R. Whitmore, Tamar S. Polonsky, Esra Tasali. Optimal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Reduces Daytime Resting Heart Rate in Prediabetes: A Randomized Controlled Study. Journal of the American Heart Association 9(19): e016871, 2020. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.016871.
