Conventional whole-body 18F-FDG PET imaging provides a semi-quantitative evaluation of overall glucose metabolism without gaining insight into the specific transport and metabolic steps. Here we demonstrate the ability of total-body multiparametric 18F-FDG PET to quantitatively evaluate glucose metabolism using macroparametric quantification and assess specific glucose delivery and phosphorylation processes using microparametric quantification for studying recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: The study included thirteen healthy subjects and twelve recovering COVID-19 subjects within eight weeks of confirmed diagnosis. Each subject had a dynamic 18F-FDG scan on the uEXPLORER total-body PET/CT system for one hour. Semiquantitative standardized uptake value (SUV) and SUV ratio relative to blood (SUVR) were calculated for regions of interest (ROIs) in different organs to measure glucose utilization. Tracer kinetic modeling was performed to quantify microparametric rate constants K1 and k3 that characterize 18F-FDG blood-to-tissue delivery and intracellular phosphorylation, respectively, and a macroparameter Ki that represents 18F-FDG net influx rate. Statistical tests were performed to examine differences between the healthy controls and recovering COVID-19 subjects. Impact of COVID-19 vaccination was investigated. We further generated parametric images to confirm the ROI-based analysis. Results: We detected no significant difference in lung SUV but significantly higher lung SUVR and Ki in the recovering COVID-19 subjects, indicating an improved sensitivity of kinetic quantification for detecting the difference in glucose metabolism. A significant difference was also observed in the lungs with the phosphorylation rate k3, but not with the delivery rate K1, which suggests it is glucose phosphorylation, not glucose delivery, that drives the observed difference of glucose metabolism in the lungs. Meanwhile, there was no or little difference in bone marrow metabolism measured with SUV, SUVR and Ki, but a significant increase in bone-marrow 18F-FDG delivery rate K1 in the COVID-19 group (p<0.05), revealing a difference of glucose delivery in this immune-related organ. The observed differences were lower or similar in vaccinated COVID-19 subjects as compared to unvaccinated ones. The organ ROI-based findings were further supported by parametric images. Conclusions: Higher lung glucose metabolism and bone-marrow glucose delivery were observed with total-body multiparametric 18F-FDG PET in recovering COVID-19 subjects as compared to healthy subjects, which suggests continued inflammation due to COVID-19 during the early stages of recovery. Total-body multiparametric PET of 18F-FDG delivery and metabolism can provide a more sensitive tool and more insights than conventional static whole-body 18F-FDG imaging to evaluate metabolic changes in systemic diseases such as COVID-19.
Understanding mucosal antibody responses from SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination is crucial to develop strategies for longer term immunity, especially against emerging viral variants. We profiled serial paired mucosal and plasma antibodies from: COVID-19 vaccinated only vaccinees (vaccinated, uninfected), COVID-19 recovered vaccinees (convalescent, vaccinated) and individuals with breakthrough Delta or Omicron BA.2 infections (vaccinated, infected). Saliva from COVID-19 recovered vaccinees displayed improved antibody neutralizing activity, FcγR engagement and IgA compared to COVID-19 uninfected vaccinees. Furthermore, repeated mRNA vaccination boosted SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG2 and IgG4 responses in both mucosa biofluids (saliva and tears) and plasma. IgG, but not IgA, responses to breakthrough COVID-19 variants were dampened and narrowed by increased pre-existing vaccine-induced immunity to the ancestral strain. Salivary antibodies delayed initiation of boosting following breakthrough COVID-19 infection, especially Omicron BA.2, however, rose rapidly thereafter. Our data highlight how pre-existing immunity shapes mucosal SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses and has implications for long-term protection from COVID-19.
Contact tracing forms a crucial part of the public-health toolbox in mitigating and understanding emergent pathogens and nascent disease outbreaks. Contact tracing in the United States was conducted during the pre-Omicron phase of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This tracing relied on voluntary reporting and responses, often using rapid antigen tests (with a high false negative rate) due to lack of accessibility to PCR tests. These limitations, combined with SARS-CoV-2s propensity for asymptomatic transmission, raise the question how reliable was contact tracing for COVID-19 in the United States? We answered this question using a Markov model to examine the efficiency with which transmission could be detected based on the design and response rates of contact tracing studies in the United States. Our results suggest that contact tracing protocols in the U.S. are unlikely to have identified more than 1.65% (95% uncertainty interval: 1.62%-1.68%) of transmission events with PCR testing and 0.88% (95% uncertainty interval 0.86%-0.89%) with rapid antigen testing. When considering an optimal scenario, based on compliance rates in East Asia with PCR testing, this increases to 62.7% (95% uncertainty interval: 62.6%-62.8%). These findings highlight the limitations in interpretability for studies of SARS-CoV-2 disease spread based on U.S. contact tracing and underscore the vulnerability of the population to future disease outbreaks, for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.
Rationale: Persistent pulmonary sequelae are evident in many survivors of acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but the molecular mechanisms responsible are incompletely understood. Post-COVID radiological lung abnormalities comprise two broad categories, organising pneumonia and reticulation, interpreted as indicative of subacute inflammation and fibrosis, respectively. Whether these two patterns represent distinct pathologies, likely to require different treatment strategies is not known. Objectives: We sought to identify differences at molecular and cellular level, in the local immunopathology of post-COVID inflammation and fibrosis. Methods: We compared single-cell transcriptomic profiles and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires of bronchoalveolar cells obtained from convalescent individuals with each radiological pattern of post-COVID lung disease (PCLD). Measurements and Main Results: Inflammatory and fibrotic PCLD single-cell transcriptomes closely resembled each other across all cell types. However, CD4 central memory T cells (TCM) and CD8 effector memory T cells (TEM) were significantly more abundant in inflammatory PCLD. A greater proportion of CD4 TCM also exhibited clonal expansion in inflammatory PCLD. High levels of clustering of similar TCRs from multiple donors was a striking feature of both PCLD phenotypes, consistent with tissue localised antigen-specific immune responses, but there was no enrichment for known SARS-CoV-2 reactive TCRs. Conclusions: There is no evidence that radiographic organising pneumonia and reticulation in PCLD are associated with differential immmunopathological pathways. Inflammatory radiology is characterised by greater bronchoalveolar T cell accumulation. Both groups show evidence of shared antigen-specific T cell responses, but the antigenic target for these T cells remains to be identified.
SARS-CoV-2 infection causes a multisystemic disease that affects numerous organs beyond the respiratory system. Thus, it is well known that COVID-19 is associated with a wide range of hematological disorders; however, it remains unclear how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is able to navigate from tissue to tissue. In this work, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the pleiotropic effects of a prototypical coronavirus in its natural host, the validated preclinical model of murine hepatitis virus (MHV). Throughout this study we compared our results with the real-world data from COVID-19 patients (including autopsies). Thus, the presence of viral RNA was only detected in less than 25% of the human serum samples, whereas all had multiple positive nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2. Notably, we found viral RNA not only in lungs, but also in heart and kidney of deceased COVID-19 patients. Subsequently, we investigated the association between viral organotropism and clinical manifestations employing the MHV murine model. Results from RT-qPCR and viral infectivity showcased the presence of viral RNA and infectious particles in multiple organs including liver, lung, brain, heart, kidney, spleen and pancreas, and even the blood of infected mice. Surprisingly, when comparing plasma and red blood cells (RBCs)-enriched fraction, higher viral load levels were detected in RBCs, with decreased RBC count, and hematocrit and hemoglobin levels in infected mice. Next, we treated infected mice with hemin triggering more aggressive symptoms. Strikingly, when combining hemin treatment with chloroquine (a compound that known to interact with the heme group and induces a conformational change in its structure) the infection and its clinical manifestations were distinctly attenuated. Computational docking suggested that heme is able to bind to MHV Spike protein in a similar way to the one, experimentally observed for SARS-CoV-2. Overall, our results lead to a global perspective of COVID-19 beyond the canonical focus on the respiratory system, and strongly support the multi-organ extent of coronavirus infection through specific interactions with RBC hemoproteins.
Harmful data shifts occur when the distribution of data used to train a clinical AI system differs significantly from the distribution of data encountered during deployment, leading to erroneous predictions and potential harm to patients. We evaluated the impact of data shifts on an early warning system (EWS) for in-hospital mortality that uses electronic health record (EHR) data from patients admitted to a general internal medicine service. We found model performance to differ across subgroups of clinical diagnoses, sex and age. To explore the robustness of the model, we evaluated potentially harmful data shifts across demographics, hospital types, seasons, times of hospital admission, and whether the patient was admitted from an acute care institution or nursing home, without relying on model performance. Interestingly, we found that models trained on community hospitals experience harmful data shifts when evaluated on academic hospitals, whereas the models trained on academic hospitals transfer well to the community hospitals. To improve model performance across hospital sites we employed transfer learning, a strategy that stores knowledge gained from learning one domain and applies it to a different but related domain. We found hospital type-specific models that leverage transfer learning, perform better than models that use all available hospitals. Furthermore, we monitored data shifts over time and identified model deterioration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically machine learning models remain locked after deployment, however, this can lead to model deterioration due to data shifts that occur over time. We used continual learning, the process of learning from a continual stream of data in a sequential manner, to mitigate data shifts over time and improve model performance. Overall, our study is a crucial step towards the deployment of clinical AI models, by providing strategies and workflows to ensure the safety and efficacy of these models in real-world settings.
Abstract Objective To assess the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in the treatment of outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at higher risk of developing severe illness, through a systematic review with meta-analyses of observational studies. Methods A systematic search was performed, in accordance with the Cochrane search methods, to identify observational studies that met the inclusion criteria. The outcomes of mortality and hospitalization were analyzed. Search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library. Two reviewers independently screened references, selected the studies, extracted the data, assessed the risk of bias using ROBINS-I tool and evaluated the quality of evidence using the GRADE tool. This study followed the PRISMA reporting guideline. Results A total of 16 observational studies and 1,482,923 patients were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that in comparison to standard treatment without antivirals, nirmatrelvir-ritonavir reduced the risk of death by 62% (OR= 0.38; 95% CI: 0.30-0.46; moderate certainty of evidence). In addition, a 53% reduction in the risk of hospital admission was observed (OR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.36–0.60, with very low certainty of evidence). For the composite outcome of hospitalization and/or mortality, there was a 56% risk reduction (OR=0.44; 95% CI: 0.31-0.64, moderate certainty of evidence). Conclusion The results suggest that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir could be effective in reducing mortality and hospitalization. The results were valid in vaccinated or unvaccinated high-risk individuals with COVID-19. Data from ongoing and future trials may further advance our understanding of the effectiveness and safety of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and help improve treatment guidelines for COVID-19.
The current study explored the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health-related behaviours in the United Kingdom. We conducted a repeated measures latent class analysis with five indicators of health-related behaviours; frequency of alcohol consumption, binge drinking, smoking, BMI and sleep, to identify distinct subgroups of individuals with similar patterns of change across three timepoints during the first 9 months of the pandemic. We hypothesised that various psychosocial risk factors, such as a history of adverse childhood experiences would predict membership in latent classes with a higher probability of engaging in risky health behaviours, and that protective factors, like social support, would be associated with membership in classes with less risky health behaviours. We identified 5 latent classes, and multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed multiple predictors of class membership. Our findings did not support the relationship between poor mental health and the adoption of risky health behaviours. Keywords: Repeated Measures Latent Class Analysis, Covid-19, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Health Related Behaviours
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the first major multi-continental sporting Mass Gathering Event (MGE) of the post COVID-19 era to allow foreign spectators. Such large-scale MGEs can potentially lead to outbreaks of infectious disease and contribute to the global dissemination of such pathogens. Here we adapt previous work and create a generalisable model framework for assessing the use of disease control strategies at such events, in terms of reducing infections and hospitalisations. This framework utilises a combination of meta-populations based on clusters of people and their vaccination status, Ordinary Differential Equation integration between fixed time events, and Latin Hypercube sampling. We use the FIFA 2022 World Cup as a case study for this framework. Pre-travel screenings of visitors were found to have little effect in reducing COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations. With pre-match screenings of spectators and match staff being more effective. Rapid Antigen (RA) screenings 0.5 days before match day outperformed RT-PCR screenings 1.5 days before match day. A combination of pre-travel RT-PCR and pre-match RA testing proved to be the most successful screening-based regime. However, a policy of ensuring that all visitors had a COVID-19 vaccination (second or booster dose) within a few months before departure proved to be much more efficacious. The State of Qatar abandoned all COVID-19 related travel testing and vaccination requirements over the period of the World Cup. Our work suggests that the State of Qatar may have been correct in abandoning the pre-travel testing of visitors. However, there was a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations within Qatar over the World Cup. The research outlined here suggests a policy requiring visitors to have had a recent COVID-19 vaccination may have prevented the increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations during the world cup.
Evaluation of Safety & Efficacy of MIR 19 ® Inhalation Solution in Patients With Mild COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: MIR 19 ®; Combination Product: Standard therapy
Sponsor: National Research Center - Institute of Immunology Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia
Completed
LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and ZINC Defense™ and Standard of Care (SOC) vs SOC in the Treatment of Non-hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: Sesderma LACTYFERRIN™ Forte and Sesderma ZINC Defense™; Drug: Placebo
Sponsors: Jose David Suarez, MD; Sesderma S.L.; Westchester General Hospital Inc. DBA Keralty Hospital Miami; MGM Technology Corp
Not yet recruiting
MP0420 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: MP0420; Drug: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); Molecular Partners AG; University of Minnesota
Active, not recruiting
AZD7442 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: AZD7442; Biological: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); AstraZeneca; University of Minnesota
Active, not recruiting
VIR-7831 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: VIR-7831; Biological: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); Vir Biotechnology, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline; University of Minnesota
Completed
PF-07304814 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: PF-07304814; Drug: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); Pfizer; University of Minnesota
Suspended
BRII-196/BRII-198 for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: BRII-196; Biological: BRII-198; Biological: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); Brii Biosciences Limited; University of Minnesota
Completed
LY3819253 (LY-CoV555) for Inpatients With COVID-19 (An ACTIV-3/TICO Treatment Trial) - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: LY3819253; Biological: Placebo; Biological: Remdesivir
Sponsors: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT); University of Copenhagen; Medical Research Council; Kirby Institute; Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center; AIDS Clinical Trials Group; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); US Department of Veterans Affairs; Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL); Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN); Eli Lilly and Company; University of Minnesota
Completed
RCT for Yinqiaosan-Maxingganshitang in the Treatment of COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: Chinese Herb; Diagnostic Test: Placebo
Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong
Not yet recruiting
Short-term Effects of Transdermal Estradiol on Female COVID-19 Patients - Conditions: COVID-19; Hormone Replacement Therapy
Interventions: Drug: Climara 0.1Mg/24Hr Transdermal System; Other: Hydrogel patch
Sponsors: Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa (IUC); Turkish Menopause and Osteoporosis Society; Karakoy Rotary Club; Rebul Pharmacy
Completed
Effect of a Health Pathway for People With Persistent Symptoms Covid-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Other: usual care and follow-up by a nurse; Other: Personalized Multifactorial Intervention (IMP)
Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne
Not yet recruiting
A Clinical Study on Safety and Effectiveness of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes for the Treatment of COVID-19. - Condition: COVID-19 Pneumonia
Intervention: Biological: Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Sponsor: First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University
Recruiting
Teletechnology-assisted Home-based Exercise Program for Severe COVID-19 - Conditions: COVID-19; Telerehabilitation
Intervention: Behavioral: Teletechnology-assisted home-based pulmonary rehabilitation
Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital
Not yet recruiting
Study of the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of NP-101 in Treating High Risk Participants Who Are Covid-19 Positive. - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: NP-101; Other: Placebo
Sponsor: Novatek Pharmaceuticals
Recruiting
Cluster-Randomized Trial of Air Filtration and Ventilation to Reduce Covid19 Spread in Homes - Condition: Covid19
Interventions: Device: Filtration Fan; Behavioral: Safe-home pamphlet; Behavioral: Mid-week phone call
Sponsor: Stanford University
Enrolling by invitation
Hyper-inflammation and complement in COVID-19 - COVID-19 is a complex disease manifesting in a broad severity spectrum and involving distinct organs and systems. Hyperinflammation, including complement over-activation, has a pivotal role in severe COVID-19 pathobiology, stimulating the inflammatory response, causing microangiopathy, platelet-neutrophil activation, and hypercoagulability. SARS-CoV-2 can directly activate the complement system by the classic, alternative, and lectin pathways, and infected cells can produce intracellular…
Susceptibility of SARS COV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins to reactive oxygen species and role in inflammation - Chemiluminescence was used to test the susceptibility of the SARS-CoV-2 N and S proteins to oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) at pH7.4 and pH8.5. The Fenton’s system generates various ROS (H(2)O(2), ·OH, -OH, ·OOH). All proteins were found to significantly suppress oxidation (the viral proteins exhibited 25-60% effect compared to albumin). In the second system, H(2)O(2)was used both as a strong oxidant and as a ROS. A similar effect was observed (30-70%); N protein approached the effect…
Antimycotic effect of 3-phenyllactic acid produced by probiotic bacterial isolates against Covid-19 associated mucormycosis causing fungi - The Covid-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) is an emerging disease affecting immunocompromised patients. Prevention of such infections using probiotics and their metabolites persist as effective therapeutic agents. Therefore, the present study emphasizes on assessment of their efficacy and safety. Samples from different sources like human milk, honey bee intestine, toddy, and dairy milk were collected, screened and characterized for potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their…
Two Resveratrol Oligomers Inhibit Cathepsin L Activity to Suppress SARS-CoV-2 Entry - Cell entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) depends on specific host cell proteases, which are the key targets for preventing and treating viral infections. Herein, we describe miyabenol C and trans-ε-viniferin, two resveratrol oligomers that specifically inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry by targeting host protease cathepsin L. Several cell-based assays were used to demonstrate the effect of resveratrol oligomers, and their target was identified via screening of antiviral…
Amuvatinib Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Infection at the Entry Step of the Viral Life Cycle - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 propagation is mediated by the protein interaction between viral proteins and host cells. Tyrosine kinase has been implicated in viral replication, and hence, it has become a target for developing antiviral drugs. We have previously reported that receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor blocks the replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the present study, we…
Investigating the potential of natural compounds as novel inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 RdRP using computational approaches - COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Currently, no vaccines or antiviral treatments are available to combat this deadly virus; however, precautions and some repurposed medicines are available to contain COVID-19. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) plays an important role in the replication or transcription of viral mechanisms. Approved antiviral drug such as Remdesivir has shown inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 RdRP. The purpose of this study was to carry out a…
Multifaceted involvements of Paneth cells in various diseases within intestine and systemically - Serving as the guardians of small intestine, Paneth cells (PCs) play an important role in intestinal homeostasis maintenance. Although PCs uniquely exist in intestine under homeostasis, the dysfunction of PCs is involved in various diseases not only in intestine but also in extraintestinal organs, suggesting the systemic importance of PCs. The mechanisms under the participation of PCs in these diseases are multiple as well. The involvements of PCs are mostly characterized by limiting intestinal…
Synthesis, molecular docking, and binding Gibbs free energy calculation of β-nitrostyrene derivatives: Potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease - The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), has had a significant impact on human health and the economic development. SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease (3CLpro) is highly conserved and plays a key role in mediating the transcription of virus replication. It is an ideal target for the design and screening of anti-coronavirus drugs. In this work, seven β-nitrostyrene derivatives were synthesized by Henry reaction and β-dehydration reaction, and…
Engineering Nanomolar Potent Protein-based Inhibitors for Papain-like Protease Guided by Residue Correlation Network - We developed a rational protocol with a minimal number of mutated residues to create highly potent and selective protein-based inhibitors. Guided by an interaction and dihedral correlation network of ubiquitin (Ub) and MERS coronaviral papain-like protease (PLpro) complex, our designed ubiquitin variant (UbV) with 3 mutated residues (A46F, K48E, and E64Y) resulted in a ~3,500-fold increase in functional inhibition as compared with the wildtype Ub (wtUb). Further optimization with C-terminal R74N…
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)…
Cell Surface Nucleocapsid Protein Expression: A Betacoronavirus Immunomodulatory Strategy - We recently reported that SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) protein is abundantly expressed on the surface of both infected and neighboring uninfected cells, where it enables activation of Fc receptor-bearing immune cells with anti-N antibodies (Abs) and inhibits leukocyte chemotaxis by binding chemokines (CHKs). Here, we extend these findings to N from the seasonal human coronavirus (HCoV)-OC43, which is also robustly expressed on the surface of infected and non-infected cells by binding…
Totally-green cellulosic fiber with prominent sustained antibacterial and antiviral properties for potential use in spunlaced non-woven fabric production - The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has put a higher requirement for personal medical protective clothing, developing protective clothing with sustained antibacterial and antiviral performance is the priority for safe and sustaining application. For this purpose, we develop a novel cellulose based material with sustained antibacterial and antiviral properties. In the proposed method, the chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) was subjected to a guanylation reaction with dicyandiamide in the presence of…
Risk perception of compound emergencies: A household survey on flood evacuation and sheltering behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic - Compound hazards are derived from independent disasters that occur simultaneously. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the coupling of low-probability high-impact climate events has introduced a novel form of conflicting stressors that inhibits the operation of traditional logistics developed for single-hazard emergencies. The competing goals of hindering virus contagion and expediting massive evacuation have posed unique challenges for community safety. Yet, how a community perceives associated…
Ginsenosides, potential TMPRSS2 inhibitors, a trade-off between the therapeutic combination for anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and the treatment of COVID-19 infection of LUAD patients - Background: Acting as a viral entry for coronavirus to invade human cells, TMPRSS2 has become a target for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection. Before this, TMPRSS2 has presented biological functions in cancer, but the roles remain controversial and the mechanism remains unelucidated. Some chemicals have been reported to be inhibitors of TMPRSS2 and also demonstrated other pharmacological properties. At this stage, it is important to discover more new compounds targeting TMPRSS2,…
Efficient CRISPR-Cas13d-Based Antiviral Strategy to Combat SARS-CoV-2 - The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic forms a major global health burden. Although protective vaccines are available, concerns remain as new virus variants continue to appear. CRISPR-based gene-editing approaches offer an attractive therapeutic strategy as the CRISPR-RNA (crRNA) can be adjusted rapidly to accommodate a new viral genome sequence. This study aimed at using the RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas13d system to attack highly conserved sequences in the viral RNA genome, thereby preparing for future…