Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• Associations among anxiety, risk perception, preventive behaviors, and personality in Japanese older adults aged 78 to 99 years during the COVID-19 pandemic -
  Background and Objectives: To deepen the understanding of processes underlying older adults’ behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigated associations among affective (anxiety about the coronavirus), cognitive (perceived risk of infection and fatality), and behavioral (engagement in preventive behaviors) variables. We also examined how these variables were predicted by personality traits measured before the pandemic. Research Design and Methods: Older adults (N = 1,727; 78–99 years old) were recruited from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study started in 2010. They responded to a questionnaire sent in August 2020, which included four items measuring COVID-19 anxiety, infection risk perception, fatality risk perception, and engagement in preventive behaviors. Big Five personality traits were measured years ago when the participants had first participated in the study. Results: Most participants felt anxious, engaged in preventive behaviors, and overestimated infection and fatality risks. Older age was associated with low anxiety, a low perception of infection risk, a high perception of fatality risk, and a little engagement in preventive behaviors. Women were more susceptible to the pandemic than men were, demonstrated by higher scores on all four items. Partial correlation analysis controlling for age and sex demonstrated positive associations among all four items except for infection risk perception and preventive behaviors. Anxiety and perceived infection risk were positively predicted by neuroticism and conscientiousness, respectively. Engagement in preventive behaviors was positively predicted by extraversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. Discussion and Implications: We highlighted the critical distinction between infection and fatality risk perceptions and demonstrated the need to consider each individual’s attributes.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Associations among anxiety, risk perception, preventive behaviors, and personality in Japanese older adults aged 78 to 99 years during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in vitro by chemically modified tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus -
  Antiviral compounds are crucial to controlling the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Approved drugs have been tested for their efficacy against COVID-19, and new pharmaceuticals are being developed as a complementary tool to vaccines However, there are not any effective treatment against this disease yet. In this work, a cheap and fast purification method of natural tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus fresh mushrooms was developed in order to evaluate the potential of this enzyme as a therapeutic protein by the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro protease activity in vitro. Tyrosinase showed a mild inhibition of 3CLpro of around 15%. Thus, different variants of this protein were synthesized through chemical modifications, covalently binding different tailor-made glycans and peptides to the amino terminal groups of the protein. These new tyrosinase conjugates were purified and characterized by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy analyses, and their stability under different conditions. Then all these tyrosinase conjugates were tested in 3CLpro protease inhibition. From them, the conjugate between tyrosinase and dextran-aspartic acid (6kDa) polymer showed the highest inhibition, with an IC50 of 2.5 ug/ml and IC90 of 5 ug/ml, results that highlight the potential use of modified tyrosinase as a therapeutic protein and opens the possibility of developing this and other enzymes as pharmaceutical drugs against diseases.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro in vitro by chemically modified tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus
• SARS-CoV-2 N-protein induces the formation of composite α-synuclein/N-protein fibrils that transform into a strain of α-synuclein fibrils -
  The presence of deposits of alpha-synuclein fibrils in cells of the brain are a hallmark of several -synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease. As most disease cases are not familial, it is likely that external factors play a role in disease onset. One of the external factors that may influence disease onset are viral infections. It has recently been shown that in the presence of SARS-Cov-2 N-protein, S fibril formation is faster and proceeds in an unusual two-step aggregation process. Here, we show that faster fibril formation is not due to a SARS-CoV-2 N-protein-catalysed formation of an aggregation-prone nucleus. Instead, aggregation starts with the formation of a population of mixed S/N-protein fibrils with low affinity for S. After the depletion of N-protein, fibril formation comes to a halt, until a slow transformation to fibrils with characteristics of pure S fibril strains occurs. This transformation into a strain of S fibrils subsequently results in a second phase of fibril growth until a new equilibrium is reached. Our findings point at the possible relevance of fibril strain transformation in the cell-to-cell spread of the S pathology and disease onset.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS-CoV-2 N-protein induces the formation of composite α-synuclein/N-protein fibrils that transform into a strain of α-synuclein fibrils
• Correlating physicochemical and biological properties to define critical quality attributes of a recombinant AAV vaccine candidate -
  Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are a preferred vector system in clinical gene transfer. A fundamental challenge to formulate and deliver rAAVs as stable and efficacious vaccines is to elucidate interrelationships between the vectors physicochemical properties and biological potency. To this end, we evaluated an rAAV-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate which encodes the Spike antigen (AC3) and is produced by an industrially-compatible process. First, state-of-the-art analytical techniques were employed to determine key structural attributes of AC3 including primary and higher-order structures, particle size, empty/full capsid ratios, aggregates and multi-step thermal degradation pathway analysis. Next, several quantitative potency measures for AC3 were implemented and data were correlated with the physicochemical analyses on thermal-stressed and control samples. Results demonstrate links between decreasing AC3 physical stability profiles, in vitro transduction efficiency in a cell-based assay, and importantly, in vivo immunogenicity in a mouse model. These findings are discussed in the general context of future development of rAAV-based vaccines candidates as well as specifically for the rAAV vaccine application under study.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Correlating physicochemical and biological properties to define critical quality attributes of a recombinant AAV vaccine candidate
• Development of monoclonal antibody-based blocking ELISA for detecting SARS-CoV-2 exposure in animals -
  The global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a significant threat to public health. Besides humans, SARS-CoV-2 can infect several animal species. Highly sensitive and specific diagnostic reagents and assays are urgently needed for rapid detection and implementation of strategies for prevention and control of the infection in animals. In this study, we initially developed a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein. To detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a broad spectrum of animal species, a mAb-based bELISA was developed. Test validation using a set of animal serum samples with known infection status obtained an optimal percentage of inhibition (PI) cut-off value of 17.6% with diagnostic sensitivity of 97.8% and diagnostic specificity of 98.9%. The assay demonstrates high repeatability as determined by a low coefficient of variation (7.23%, 6.95%, and 5.15%) between-runs, within-run, and within-plate, respectively. Testing of samples collected over time from experimentally infected cats showed that the bELISA was able to detect seroconversion as early as 7 days post-infection. Subsequently, the bELISA was applied for testing pet animals with COVID-19-like symptoms and specific antibody responses were detected in two dogs. The panel of mAbs generated in this study provides a valuable tool for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and research. The mAb-based bELISA provides a serological test in aid of COVID-19 surveillance in animals.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Development of monoclonal antibody-based blocking ELISA for detecting SARS-CoV-2 exposure in animals
• In vitro comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants -
  The Coronaviridae family hosts various coronaviruses responsible for many diseases, from the common cold, severe lung infections to pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 was discovered to be the etiologic agent of the Coronavirus pandemic, and numerous basic and applied laboratory techniques were utilized in virus culture and examination of the disease. Understanding the replication kinetics and characterizing the effect of the virus on different cell lines is crucial for developing in vitro studies. With the emergence of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, a comparison between their infectivity and replication in common cell lines will give us a clear understanding of the characteristic differences in pathogenicity. In this study, we compared the cytopathic effect (CPE) and replication of Wild Type (WT), Omicron (B.1.1.529), and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants on 5 different cell lines; VeroE6, VeroE6 expressing high endogenous ACE2, VeroE6 highly expressing human ACE2 (VeroE6/ACE2) and TMPRSS2 (VeroE6/hACE2/TMPRSS2), Calu3 cells highly expressing human ACE2 and A549 cells. All 3 VeroE6 cell lines were susceptible to WT strain, where CPE and replication were observed. Along with being susceptible to Wild type, VeroE6/hACE2/TMPRSS2 cells were susceptible to both omicron and delta strains, whereas VeroE6/ACE2 cells were only susceptible to omicron in a dose-dependent manner. No CPE was observed in both human lung cell lines, A549 and Calu3/hACE2, but Wild type and omicron replication was observed. As SAR-CoV-2 continues to evolve, this data will benefit researchers in experimental planning, viral pathogenicity analysis, and providing a baseline for testing future variants.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: In vitro comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants
• Evolutionary changes in the number of dissociable amino acids on spike proteins and nucleoproteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants -
  The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for target recognition, cellular entry, and endosomal escape of the virus. At the same time, it is the part of the virus which exhibits the greatest sequence variation across the many variants which have emerged during its evolution. Recent studies have indicated that with progressive lineage emergence, the positive charge on the spike protein has been increasing, with certain positively charged amino acids improving the binding of the spike protein to cell receptors. We have performed a detailed analysis of dissociable amino acids of more than 1400 different SARS-CoV-2 lineages which confirms these observations while suggesting that this progression has reached a plateau with omicron and its subvariants and that the positive charge is not increasing further. Analysis of the nucleocapsid protein shows no similar increase of positive charge with novel variants, which further indicates that positive charge of the spike protein is being evolutionarily selected for. Furthermore, comparison with the spike proteins of known coronaviruses shows that already the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein carries an unusually large amount of positively charged amino acids when compared to most other betacoronaviruses. Our study sheds a light on the evolutionary changes in the number of dissociable amino acids on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, complementing existing studies and providing a stepping stone towards a better understanding of the relationship between the spike protein charge and viral infectivity and transmissibility.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evolutionary changes in the number of dissociable amino acids on spike proteins and nucleoproteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants
• Monoclonal antibodies against human coronavirus NL63 spike -
  The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the potential for monoclonal antibody therapeutics as prophylactic and therapeutic agents against pandemic viruses. No such therapeutics currently exist for other human coronaviruses. NL63 is a human alphacoronavirus that typically causes the common cold and uses the same receptor, ACE2, as the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 pandemic viruses. In a cohort of healthy adults, we characterised humoral responses against the NL63 spike protein. While NL63 spike and receptor binding domain-specific binding antibodies and neutralisation activity could be detected in plasma of all subjects, memory B cells against NL63 spike were variable and relatively low in frequency compared to that against SARS-CoV-2 spike. From these donors, we isolated a panel of antibodies against NL63 spike and characterised their neutralising potential. We identified potent neutralising antibodies that recognised the receptor binding domain (RBD) and other non-RBD epitopes within spike.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Monoclonal antibodies against human coronavirus NL63 spike
• Resolving the developmental mechanisms of coagulation abnormalities characteristic of SARS-CoV2 based on single-cell transcriptome analysis -
  The COVID-19 outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has developed into a global health emergency. In addition to causing respiratory symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-associated coagulopathy (CAC) is the main cause of death in patients with severe COVID-19. In this study, we performed single-cell sequencing analysis of the right ventricular free wall tissue from healthy donors, patients who died in the hypercoagulable phase of CAC, and patients in the fibrinolytic phase of CAC. Among these, we collected 61,187 cells, which were enriched in 24 immune cell subsets and 13 cardiac-resident cell subsets. We found that in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, CD9highCCR2high monocyte-derived mo promoted hyperactivation of the immune system and initiated the extrinsic coagulation pathway by activating CXCR-GNB/G-PI3K-AKT. This sequence of events is the main process contributing the development of coagulation disorders subsequent to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the characteristic coagulation disorder caused by SARS-CoV-2, excessive immune activation is accompanied by an increase in cellular iron content, which in turn promotes oxidative stress and intensifies intercellular competition. This induces cells to alter their metabolic environment, resulting in an increase in sugar uptake, such as that via the glycosaminoglycan synthesis pathway, in CAC coagulation disorders. In addition, high levels of reactive oxygen species generated in response elevated iron levels promote the activation of unsaturated fatty acid metabolic pathways in endothelial cell subgroups, including vascular endothelial cells. This in turn promotes the excessive production of the toxic peroxidation by-product malondialdehyde, which exacerbates both the damage caused to endothelial cells and coagulation disorders.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Resolving the developmental mechanisms of coagulation abnormalities characteristic of SARS-CoV2 based on single-cell transcriptome analysis
• Urine proteomic characterization of active and recovered COVID-19 patients -
  Background: The molecular changes in COVID-19 patients have been reported in many studies. However, there were limited attention has been given to the disease sequelae in the recovered COVID-19 patients. Methods: Here, we profiled the urine proteome of a cohort of 29 COVID-19 patients in their disease onset and recovery period, including mild, severe, and fatal patients and survivors who recovered from mild or severe symptoms. Results: The molecular changes in the COVID-19 onset period suggest that viral infections, immune response changes, multiple organ damage, cell injury, coagulation system changes and metabolic changes are associated with COVID-19 progression. The patients who recovered from COVID-19 still exhibited an innate immune response, coagulation system changes and central nervous system changes. We also proposed four potential biomarkers to monitor the whole progression period of COVID-19. Conclusions: Our findings provide valuable knowledge about the potential molecular pathological changes and biomarkers that can be used to monitor the whole period of COVID-19.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Urine proteomic characterization of active and recovered COVID-19 patients
• Pump-free and high-throughput generation of monodisperse hydrogel beads by microfluidic step emulsification for dLAMP-on-a-chip -
  Step emulsification (SE), which generates droplets by a sharp change in confinement, has emerged as a potential alternative to flow-focusing technology. Water/dispersed phase is continuously pumped through a shallow inlet channel into a deep chamber pre-filled with the oil/continuous phase. The need for one or more pumps to maintain a continuous flow for droplet generation, and the consequent use of high sample volumes, limit this technique to research labs. Here, we report a pump-free SE technique for rapid and high-throughput generation of monodisperse hydrogel (agarose) beads using <40 l sample volume. Instead of using syringe pumps, we sequentially pipetted oil and liquid agarose into a microfluidic SE device to generate between 20000 and 80000 agarose beads in ~ 2 min. We also demonstrated the encapsulation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification mixture inside these beads at the time of their formation. Finally, using these beads as reaction chambers, we amplified nucleic acids from P. falciparum and SARS-CoV-2 inside them. The pump-free operation, tiny sample volume, and high-throughput generation of droplets by SE make our technique suitable for point-of-care diagnostics.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Pump-free and high-throughput generation of monodisperse hydrogel beads by microfluidic step emulsification for dLAMP-on-a-chip
• Analysis of blood and nasal epithelial transcriptomes to identify mechanisms associated with control of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the upper respiratory tract -

  Background: The amount of SARS-CoV-2 detected in the upper respiratory tract (URT viral load) is a key driver of transmission of infection. Current evidence suggests that mechanisms constraining URT viral load are different from those controlling lower respiratory tract viral load and disease severity. Understanding such mechanisms may help to develop treatments and vaccine strategies to reduce transmission. Combining mathematical modelling of URT viral load dynamics with transcriptome analyses we aimed to identify mechanisms controlling URT viral load. Methods: COVID-19 patients were recruited in Spain during the first wave of the pandemic. RNA sequencing of peripheral blood and targeted NanoString nCounter transcriptome analysis of nasal epithelium were performed and gene expression analysed in relation to paired URT viral load samples collected within 15 days of symptom onset. Proportions of major immune cells in blood were estimated from transcriptional data using computational differential estimation. Weighted correlation network analysis (adjusted for cell proportions) and fixed transcriptional repertoire analysis were used to identify associations with URT viral load, quantified as standard deviations (z-scores) from an expected trajectory over time. Results: Eighty-two subjects (50% female, median age 54 years (range 3-73)) with COVID-19 were recruited. Paired URT viral load samples were available for 16 blood transcriptome samples, and 17 respiratory epithelial transcriptome samples. Natural Killer (NK) cells were the only blood cell type significantly correlated with URT viral load z-scores (r = -0.62, P = 0.010). Twenty-four blood gene expression modules were significantly correlated with URT viral load z-score, the most significant being a module of genes connected around IFNA14 (Interferon Alpha-14) expression (r = -0.60, P = 1e-10). In fixed repertoire analysis, prostanoid-related gene expression was significantly associated with higher viral load. In nasal epithelium, only GNLY (granulysin) gene expression showed significant negative correlation with viral load. Conclusions: Correlations between the transcriptional host response and inter-individual variations in SARS-CoV-2 URT viral load, revealed many molecular mechanisms plausibly favouring or constraining viral load. Existing evidence corroborates many of these mechanisms, including likely roles for NK cells, granulysin, prostanoids and interferon alpha-14. Inhibition of prostanoid production, and administration of interferon alpha-14 may be attractive transmission-blocking interventions.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Analysis of blood and nasal epithelial transcriptomes to identify mechanisms associated with control of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the upper respiratory tract
• Learning from the past: a short term forecast method for the COVID-19 incidence curve -

  The COVID-19 pandemy has created a radically new situation where most countries provide raw measurements of their daily incidence and disclose them in real time. This enables new machine learning forecast strategies where the prediction might no longer be based just on the past values of the current incidence curve, but could take advantage of observations in many countries. We present such a simple global machine learning procedure using all past daily incidence trend curves. Each of the 27,418 COVID-19 incidence trend curves in our database contains the values of 56 consecutive days extracted from observed incidence curves across 61 world regions and countries. Given a current incidence trend curve observed over the past four weeks, its forecast in the next four weeks is computed by matching it with the first four weeks of all samples, and ranking them by their similarity to the query curve. Then the 28 days forecast is obtained by a statistical estimation combining the values of the 28 last observed days in those similar samples. Using comparison performed by the European Covid-19 Forecast Hub with the current state of the art forecast methods, we verify that the proposed global learning method, EpiLearn, compares favorably to methods forecasting from a single past curve.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Learning from the past: a short term forecast method for the COVID-19 incidence curve
• A Systematic Review on Medical Oxygen Ecosystem: Current State and Recent Advancements -

  Background: Medical oxygen is an essential component of modern healthcare, with a wide variety of applications ranging from supplemental use in surgery and trauma patients to the primary medication in oxygen therapy. This is the most effective treatment for any respiratory illness. Despite the importance of oxygen for public health and its demand as a life-saving drug, research on the subject is limited, with the majority of studies conducted following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the lack of empirical studies, we aimed to compile the recent research efforts with the current state of the field through a systematic review. Methods: We have performed a systematic review targeting the medical oxygen ecosystem, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). For the study, we have limited our scope to healthcare facilities and domiciliary applications of medical oxygen. We considered the articles published in the last twenty years, starting from the SARS outbreak in November 2002 to 15^th May 2022. Results: Our systematic search resulted in forty-one preliminary articles, with three more articles appended for a complete outlook on the topic. Based on the selected articles, the current state of the topic was presented through detailed discussion and analysis. Conclusion: We have presented an in-depth discussion of the research works found through the systematic search while extrapolating to provide insights on the current subject scenario. We have highlighted the areas with inadequate contemporary studies and presented some research gaps in the field.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A Systematic Review on Medical Oxygen Ecosystem: Current State and Recent Advancements
• Anxiety, depression, and insomnia among nurses during the full liberalization of COVID-19: A multicenter cross-sectional analysis of the high-income region in China -

  Aims and objectives: This study demonstrates the impact of the full liberalization of COVID-19 on the psychological issues and the prevalence rate and associated factors of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia among frontline nurses. Background: It has been demonstrated that frontline nurses fighting against the epidemic were under great psychological stress. However, there is a lack of studies assessing the prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, and insomnia among frontline nurses after the full liberalization of COVID-19 in China. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Of 1766 frontline nurses were invited to complete a self-reported online questionnaire by convenience sampling. The survey included six main sections: the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Perceived Stress Scale, sociodemographic information, and work information. Multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to identify the potential risk factors for psychological issues. Reporting of this research according to the STROBE checklist. Results: 90.83% of frontline nurses were infected with COVID-19, and 33.64% had to work while infected COVID-19. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety and insomnia among frontline nurses was 69.20%, 62.51%, and 76.78%, respectively. Multiple logistic analyses revealed that job satisfaction, attitude toward the current pandemic management, and perceived stress were associated with depressive symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the full liberalization of COVID-19 had a significant psychological impact on frontline nurses. Early detection of mental health issues and preventive and promotive interventions should be implemented according to the associated factors to improve mental health of nurses. Relevance to clinical practice: This study highlighted that nurses were suffering from varying degrees of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia, which needed early screening and preventive and promotive interventions for preventing a more serious psychological impact on frontline nurses.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Anxiety, depression, and insomnia among nurses during the full liberalization of COVID-19: A multicenter cross-sectional analysis of the high-income region in China

From Clinical Trials

• Phase I Clinical Trial of Recombinant Variant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V102) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: Recombinant variant COVID-19 vaccine(Sf9 cell)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study to Compare QLS1128 With Placebo in Symptomatic Participants With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: QLS1128;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Effect of Selected Types of Breathing Exercises on Different Outcome Measures in Covid-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: breathing exercise
  Sponsor:   Basma Mosaad Abd-elrahman Abushady
  Completed

• Effect Of Calcitriol On Neutrophil To Lymphocytes Ratio And High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Covid-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Calcitriol;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Universitas Sebelas Maret
  Completed

• Immunogenicity and Reactogenicity of the Beta-variant Recombinant Protein Booster Vaccine (VidPrevtyn Beta, Sanofi) Compared to a Bivalent mRNA Vaccine (Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5, BioNTech-Pfizer) in Adults Previously Vaccinated With at Least 3 Doses of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine - Conditions:   Vaccine Reaction;   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Comirnaty® BNT162b2 /Omicron BA.4-5 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech);   Biological: VidPrevtyn® Beta vaccine (Sanofi/GSK)
  Sponsors:   Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris;   IREIVAC/COVIREIVAC Network
  Not yet recruiting

• Study of WPV01 Compared With Placebo in Patients With Mild/Moderate COVID-19 Infection - Condition:   COVID-19 Infection
  Interventions:   Drug: WPV01;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Westlake Pharmaceuticals (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• ARVAC-A New Recombinant Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Condition:   COVID-19 Vaccine
  Interventions:   Biological: Gamma Variant RBD-based ARVAC-CG vaccine;   Biological: Omicron Variant RBD-based ARVAC-CG vaccine;   Biological: Bivalent RBD-based ARVAC-CG vaccine;   Other: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Mónica Edith Lombardo;   Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM);   National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina;   Laboratorio Pablo Cassará S.R.L.
  Recruiting

• A Study of HH-120 Nasal Spray in Close Contacts of Those Diagnosed With COVID-19 - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Intervention:   Drug: HH-120 Nasal Spray
  Sponsor:   Beijing Ditan Hospital
  Completed

• Oxygen Atomizing Inhalation of EGCG in the Treatment COVID-19 Pneumonia in Cancer Patients - Conditions:   COVID-19 Pneumonia;   Neoplasms Malignant
  Interventions:   Drug: EGCG;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute
  Recruiting

• The Use of Photobiomodulation in the Treatment of Oral Complaints of Long COVID-19.A Randomized Controlled Trial. - Conditions:   Xerostomia;   COVID-19;   Long COVID;   Persistent COVID-19
  Interventions:   Combination Product: Institutional standard treatment for xerostomia and Long Covid;   Radiation: Photobiomodulation Therapy;   Radiation: Placebo Photobiomodulation Therapy
  Sponsor:   University of Nove de Julho
  Recruiting

• Acupuncture for Post COVID-19 Fatigue - Conditions:   Acupuncture;   Post COVID-19 Condition;   Fatigue
  Interventions:   Device: Acupuncture;   Device: Sham Acupuncture
  Sponsor:   Guang’anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
  Not yet recruiting

• Balneotherapy for Patients With Post-acute Coronavirus Disease (COVID) Syndrome - Condition:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
  Intervention:   Other: Balneotherapy and aquatic exercises
  Sponsors:   Parc de Salut Mar;   Caldes de Montbui’s City Council;   Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER);   European Regional Development Fund
  Completed

• A Study to Assess the Efficacy of HH-120 Nasal Spray for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Adult Close Contacts of Individuals Infected With SARS-CoV-2 - Condition:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Drug: HH-120 nasal spray 1;   Drug: HH-120 nasal spray 2;   Drug: Placebo Comparator 1;   Drug: Placebo Comparator 2
  Sponsor:   Beijing Ditan Hospital
  Completed

• Lactoferrin for COVID-19-Induced Taste or Smell Abnormality - Conditions:   Covid19;   Taste Disorder, Secondary;   Taste Disorders;   Dysgeusia;   Smell Disorder;   Ageusia;   Anosmia
  Intervention:   Dietary Supplement: Lactoferrin
  Sponsor:   Wake Forest University Health Sciences
  Withdrawn

• tDCS in Post-COVID Syndrome: Comparison of Two Targets - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome;   Post COVID-19 Condition
  Intervention:   Device: transcranial current direct stimulation
  Sponsor:   Hospital San Carlos, Madrid
  Recruiting

From PubMed

• Paving New Roads Using Allium sativum as a Repurposed Drug and Analyzing its Antiviral Action Using Artificial Intelligence Technology - CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered interest among researchers to conduct future research on molecular docking with clinical trials before releasing salutary remedies against the deadly malady.

• Brevicillin, a novel lanthipeptide from the genus Brevibacillus with antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral activity - CONCLUSION: This study provides detailed description of a novel lanthipeptide and demonstrates its effective antibacterial, antifungal and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity.

• Evaluation of residual humoral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 by a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) 9 months after BNT162b2 primary vaccination - The humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination has shown to be temporary, although may be more prolonged in vaccinated individuals with a history of natural infection. We aimed to study the residual humoral response and the correlation between anti-Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) IgG levels and antibody neutralizing capacity in a population of health care workers (HCWs) after 9 months from COVID-19 vaccination. In this cross-sectional study, plasma samples were screened for anti-RBD IgG using a…

• Evaluation of Antiviral Activity of Gemcitabine Derivatives against Influenza Virus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 - Gemcitabine is a nucleoside analogue of deoxycytidine and has been reported to be a broad-spectrum antiviral agent against both DNA and RNA viruses. Screening of a nucleos(t)ide analogue-focused library identified gemcitabine and its derivatives (compounds 1, 2a, and 3a) blocking influenza virus infection. To improve their antiviral selectivity by reducing cytotoxicity, 14 additional derivatives were synthesized in which the pyridine rings of 2a and 3a were chemically modified….

• A novel mAb broadly neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in vitro and in vivo, including the Omicron variants - Novel immune escape variants have emerged as SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread worldwide. Many of the variants cause breakthrough infections in vaccinated populations, posing great challenges to current antiviral strategies targeting the immunodominance of the receptor-binding domain within the spike protein. Here, we found that a novel broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb), G5, provided efficient protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) in vitro and in vivo. A single dose…

• Mucosal immunization with Ad5-based vaccines protects Syrian hamsters from challenge with omicron and delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 - SARS-CoV-2 variant clades continue to circumvent antibody responses elicited by vaccination or infection. Current parenteral vaccination strategies reduce illness and hospitalization, yet do not significantly protect against infection by the more recent variants. It is thought that mucosal vaccination strategies may better protect against infection by inducing immunity at the sites of infection, blocking viral transmission more effectively, and significantly inhibiting the evolution of new…

• 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose: A Novel Pharmacological Agent for Killing Hypoxic Tumor Cells, Oxygen Dependence-Lowering in Covid-19, and Other Pharmacological Activities - The nonmetabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has shown promising pharmacological activities, including inhibition of cancerous cell growth and N-glycosylation. It has been used as a glycolysis inhibitor and as a potential energy restriction mimetic agent, inhibiting pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Radioisotope derivatives of 2-DG have applications as tracers. Recently, 2-DG has been used as an anti-COVID-19 drug to lower the need for supplemental oxygen. In the present…

• Potential Regulation of NF-κB by Curcumin in Coronavirus-Induced Cytokine Storm and Lung Injury - The current pandemic coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is still a global medical and economic emergency with over 244 million confirmed infections and over 4.95 million deaths by October 2021, in less than 2 years. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), and COVID-19 are three recent coronavirus pandemics with major medical and economic implications. Currently, there is no effective treatment for these infections. One major pathological…

• Type I interferon signaling induces a delayed antiproliferative response in Calu-3 cells during SARS-CoV-2 infection - Disease progression during SARS-CoV-2 infection is tightly linked to the fate of lung epithelial cells, with severe cases of COVID-19 characterized by direct injury of the alveolar epithelium and an impairment in its regeneration from progenitor cells. The molecular pathways that govern respiratory epithelial cell death and proliferation during SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, remain poorly understood. We now report a high-throughput CRISPR screen for host genetic modifiers of the survival and…

• Induction of systemic, mucosal, and cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in mice vaccinated by trans-airway with a S1 protein combined with a pulmonary surfactant-derived adjuvant SF-10 - CONCLUSIONS: Based on the need for effective systemic, respiratory, and cellular immunity, the S1-SF-10-TA vaccine seems promising mucosal vaccine against respiratory infection of SARS-CoV-2.

• SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses following BNT162b2 vaccination in individuals with multiple sclerosis receiving different disease-modifying treatments - INTRODUCTION: The study aims to evaluate the concentration of IgG antibodies against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike1 protein (S1RBD) in BNT162b2- vaccinated relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) individuals receiving disease-modifying treatments (DMTs).

• miRNAs derived from milk small extracellular vesicles inhibit porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection - Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), a member of the genus Alphacoronavirus in the family Coronaviridae, causes acute diarrhea and/or vomiting, dehydration, and high mortality in neonatal piglets. It has caused huge economic losses to animal husbandry worldwide. Current commercial PEDV vaccines do not provide enough protection against variant and evolved virus strains. No specific drugs are available to treat PEDV infection. The development of more effective therapeutic anti-PEDV agents is…

• Ovatodiolide inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and ameliorates pulmonary fibrosis through suppression of the TGF-β/TβRs signaling pathway - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection continues to pose threats to public health. The clinical manifestations of lung pathology in COVID-19 patients include sustained inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis. The macrocyclic diterpenoid ovatodiolide (OVA) has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, and analgesic activities. Here, we investigated the pharmacological mechanism of OVA in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection and pulmonary fibrosis…

• Neutralizing activity and 3-month durability of tixagevimab and cilgavimab prophylaxis against Omicron sublineages in transplant recipients - Neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses are attenuated in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) despite severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 vaccination. Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with the antibody combination tixagevimab and cilgavimab (T+C) might augment immunoprotection, yet in vitro activity and durability against Omicron sublineages BA.4/5 in fully vaccinated SOTRs have not been delineated. Vaccinated SOTRs, who received 300 + 300 mg T+C (ie, full dose), within a…

• Therapeutic potential of salicylamide derivatives for combating viral infections - Since time immemorial human beings have constantly been fighting against viral infections. The ongoing and devastating coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic represents one of the most severe and most significant public health emergencies in human history, highlighting an urgent need to develop broad-spectrum antiviral agents. Salicylamide (2-hydroxybenzamide) derivatives, represented by niclosamide and nitazoxanide, inhibit the replication of a broad range of RNA and DNA viruses such as flavivirus,…

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