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The domestic pig (Sus scrofa) is a species representative of the Suina, one of the four suborders within Cetartiodactyla. In this paper, we reported our analysis of the pig TRG locus in comparison with the loci of species representative of the Ruminantia, Tylopoda and Cetacea suborders. The pig TRG genomic structure reiterates the peculiarity of the organization of Cetartiodactyla loci in TRGC “cassettes”, each containing the basic V-J-J-C unit. Eighteen genes arranged in four TRGC cassettes, form the pig TRG locus. All the functional TRG genes were expressed, and the TRGV genes preferentially rearrange with the TRGJ genes within their own cassette, which correlates the diversity of the gamma-chain repertoire with the number of cassettes. Among them, the TRGC5, located at the 5’ end of the locus, is the only cassette that retains a marked homology with the corresponding TRGC cassettes of all the analyzed species. The preservation of the TRGC5 cassette for such a long evolutionary time presumes a highly specialized function of its genes, which could be essential for the survival of species. Therefore, the maintenance of this cassette in pigs confirms that it is the most evolutionarily ancient within Cetartiodactyla, and it has undergone a process of duplication to give rise to the other TRGC cassettes in the different artiodactyl species in a lineage-specific manner.

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is globally a major healthcare threat. There is little information regarding the mechanisms and roles of the humoral response in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to analyze the antibody levels (IgM and IgG) by chemiluminescence immunoassay in 54 subjects positive to SARS-CoV-2 swab test in relation to their clinical status (whether asymptomatic, pauci-symptomatic or with mild, sever or critical symptoms), the time from the symptom onset, sex, age, and comorbidities. Overall, the presence of comorbidities and the age of subjects were associated with their clinical status. The IgG concentrations were significantly higher in patients who developed critical and severe symptoms and seemed to be independent from age, sex and comorbidities. IgG titers peaked around day 60, and then began gradually to drop, decreasing by approximately 50% on the 180th day, while the IgM titers progressively decreased as early as the tenth day, but they could be detected even at later time points. Despite the small number of individuals, some peculiar characteristics of the humoral response in COVID-19 emerged. We observed a high inter-individual variability, an ephemeral IgG half-life in several patients, and a persistence of IgM in others.