Post-acute cardiac sequelae, following SARS-CoV-2 infection, are well recognised as complications of COVID-19. We have previously shown the persistence of autoantibodies against antigens in skin, muscle, and heart in individuals following severe COVID-19; the most common staining on skin tissue displayed an inter-cellular cement pattern consistent with antibodies against desmosomal proteins. Desmosomes play a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of tissues. For this reason, we analysed desmosomal protein levels and the presence of anti-desmoglein (DSG) 1, 2 and 3 antibodies in acute and convalescent sera from patients with COVID 19 of differing clinical severity. We find increased levels of DSG2 protein in sera from acute COVID patients. Furthermore, we find that DSG2 autoantibody levels are increased significantly in convalescent sera following severe COVID-19 but not in hospitalised patients recovering from influenza infection or healthy controls. Levels of autoantibody in sera from patients with severe COVID-19 were comparable to levels in patients with non-COVID-19-associated cardiac disease, potentially identifying DSG2 autoantibodies as a novel biomarker for cardiac damage. To determine if there was any association between severe COVID-19 and DSG2, we stained post-mortem cardiac tissue from patients who died from COVID-19 infection. This revealed disruption of the intercalated disc between cardiomyocytes that was consistent with separation of the DSG2 protein homodimer. Our results reveal the potential for DSG2 protein and autoimmunity to DSG2 to contribute to unexpected pathologies associated with COVID-19 infection.
We develop a framework for modelling the risk of infection from airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in well-mixed environments in the presence of interventions designed to reduce infection risk. Our framework allows development of models that are highly tailored to the specifics of complex indoor environments, including layout, people movements, and ventilation. We explore its utility through case studies, two of which are based on actual sites. Our results reflect previously quantified benefits of masks and vaccinations. We also produce quantitative estimates of the effects of air filters, and reduced indoor occupancy for which we cannot find quantitative estimates but for which positive benefits have been postulated. We find that increased airflow reduces risk due to dilution, even if that airflow is via recirculation in a large space. Our case studies have identified interventions which seem to generalise, and others which seem to be dependent on site-specific factors, such as occupant density.
Objectives. To investigate relationships between race and COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality over time and which characteristics, may mediate COVID-19 associations. Methods. We analyzed hospital admissions, ICU admissions, and mortality among positive COVID-19 cases within the ten-hospital Franciscan Ministries of Our Lady Health System around the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor in Louisiana over four waves of the pandemic from March 1, 2020-August 31, 2021. Associations between race and each outcome were tested, and multiple mediation analysis was performed to test if other demographic, socioeconomic, or air pollution variables mediate the race-outcome relationships. Results. Race was associated with each outcome over the study duration and during most waves. Early in the pandemic, hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality rates were greater among Black patients, but as the pandemic progressed these rates became greater in White patients. However, Black patients were still disproportionately represented in these measures. Age was a significant mediator for all outcomes across waves, while comorbidity and emissions of naphthalene and chloroprene acted as mediators for the full study period. Conclusions. The role of race evolved throughout the pandemic in Louisiana, but Black patients bore a disproportionate impact. Naphthalene and chloroprene air pollution partially explained the long-term associations. Our findings imply that air pollution might contribute to the increased COVID-19 hospitalizations and mortality among Black residents in Louisiana but likely do not explain most of the effect of race.
Intradermal vaccination using fractional dosage of the standard vaccine dose is one strategy to improve access to COVID-19 immunization. We conducted a pilot study in healthy adults in Thailand to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of intradermal administration of fractional dose of ChAdOx1 (1/5th of standard dosage) or BNT162b2 (1/6th of standard dosage) to individuals previously vaccinated (prime) with two-dose intramuscular CoronaVac, ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2. Following an initial immunogenicity exploratory phase for each vaccine combination group (N=10), a total of 135 participants (N=45 per group) were recruited to three groups (CoronaVac prime-intradermal BNT162b2 boost, CoronaVac prime-intradermal ChAdOx1 boost and ChAdOx1 prime-intradermal BNT162b2 boost) and their immunogenicity data compared to a previous cohort who received the same vaccine intramuscularly. Two weeks following booster vaccination, neutralizing antibodies against the delta variant were similar between intradermal and intramuscular vaccination. However, neutralizing antibodies against the omicron variant in the intradermal BNT162b2 boost groups were ~6-fold lower, while the ChAdOx1 boost group was ~5-fold higher compared to their respective vaccine regimen given intramuscularly. The intradermal booster significantly increased spike-specific T cell responses in all three groups from pre-booster levels. Local and systemic adverse reactions were milder in intradermal compared to intramuscular injections. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of these findings and the feasibility of administration of intradermal COVID-19 vaccines.
Most countries have enacted some restrictions to reduce social contacts to slow down disease transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. For nearly two years, individuals likely also adopted new behaviours to avoid pathogen exposure based on personal circumstances. We aimed to understand the way in which different factors affect social contacts, a critical step to improving future pandemic responses. The analysis was based on repeated cross-sectional contact survey data collected in 21 European countries between March 2020 and March 2022. We calculated the mean daily contacts reported using a clustered bootstrap by country and by settings (at home, at work, or in other settings). Where data were available, contact rates during the study period were compared with rates recorded prior to the pandemic. We fitted censored individual-level generalized additive mixed models to examine the effects of various factors on the number of social contacts. The survey recorded 463,336 observations from 96,456 participants. In all countries where comparison data were available, contact rates over the previous two years were substantially lower than those seen prior to the pandemic (approximately from over 10 to <5), predominantly due to fewer contacts outside the home. Government restrictions imposed immediate effect on contacts, and these effects lingered after the restrictions were lifted. Across countries, the relationships between national policy, individual perceptions, or personal circumstances determining contacts varied. Our study, coordinated at the regional level, provides important insights into the understanding of the factors associated with social contacts to support future infectious disease outbreak responses.
Background The contemporary global issues, COVID-19 pandemic continued causing unprecedented impact on the public health, occupational health and the global economy. Keeping compliance with personal preventive measures is a vital tool for managing COVID-19 pandemic control and returning to work as no pharmaceutical treatments are currently available in Ethiopia. Although compliance with COVID -19 personal preventive measures (CPPMs) and predictors is well addressed in healthcare settings, data on the level of CPPMs and its determinants among government employees working in offices worldwide, including Ethiopia, is limited. This paper is aimed to fill this gaps. Methods We applied a cross-sectional study design from February to March, 2021. The participants were government workers working in offices who had resumed work. Stratified followed by simple random sampling technique was used to select 422 study participants from 30 government offices that had resumed work. Data were collected using a pre-tested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed by STATA 14 software. The significance of associations was established at p< 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in the multivariable model. Results Response rate 95.44% (N=394). The study found 22.3% (88) of study participants (95% CI = 18.5, 26.6) had high compliance with COVID -19 personal preventive measures during past month. Female workers were 2.80 times more likely than males to comply with COVID-19 personal preventive measures (AOR: 2.80, 95%CI (1.10, 7.12), favorable attitude towards COVID-19 prevention measures (AOR: 13.73, 95% CI (4.85, 38.83), high-risk perception of COVID-19 infections (AOR: 2.34; 95% CI (1.24, 4.41), and high misconception about COVID-19 (AOR: 3.92, 95% CI (1.45, 10.62) were predicted better compliance with COVID-19 PPMs (P < 0.05). Conclusions In sum, little proportion of sampled study participants complied with COVID -19 personal preventive measures. Sex, attitudes, risk perception, and misconception have all been identified as significant risk factors. Actions are needed to strengthen COVID -19 personal preventive measures among government employees to maintain COVID -19 control following work resumption. In the future, it’s vital to work on government employees9 attitudes and perceptions in order to improve compliance.
As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease started to spread rapidly in the state of Ohio, the Ecology, Epidemiology and Population Health (EEPH) program within the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at the Ohio State University (OSU) took the initiative to offer epidemic modeling and decision analytics support to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). This paper describes the methodology used by the OSU/IDI response modeling team throughout 2020-2021 to predict statewide cases of new infections as well as potential hospital burden in the state. The methodology has two components: 1) A Dynamic Survival Analysis (DSA)-based statistical method to perform parameter inference, statewide prediction and uncertainty quantification. 2) A geographic component that down-projects statewide predicted counts to potential hospital burden across the state. We demonstrate the overall methodology with publicly available data. A Python implementation of the methodology has been made available publicly.
Background The population9s antibody response is a key factor in comprehending SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology. This is especially important in African settings where COVID-19 impact, and vaccination rates are relatively low. This study aimed at characterizing the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in both SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals in Kisumu and Siaya counties in Western Kenya using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Results The IgG and IgM overall seroprevalence in 98 symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in western Kenya between December 2021-March 2022 was 76.5% (95% CI =66.9-84.5) and 31.6% (95% CI =22.6- 41.8) respectively. In terms of gender, males had slightly higher IgG positivity 87.8% (36/41) than females 68.4% (39/57). Amidst the ongoing vaccination roll-out during the study period, over half of the study participants (55.1%, 95% CI= 44.7-65.2) had not received any vaccine. About one third, (30.6%, 95% CI= 21.7-40.7) of the study participants had been fully vaccinated, with close to a quarter (14.3% 95% CI=8.04-22.8) partially vaccinated. When considering the vaccination status and seroprevalence, out of the 30 fully vaccinated individuals, IgG seropositivity was 86.7% (95% CI =69.3-96.2) and IgM seropositivity was 40% (95% CI =22.7-59.4). Out of the participants that had not been vaccinated at all, IgG seroprevalence was 70.3% (95% CI 56.4-82.0) with 20.4% (95% CI 10.6-33.5) seropositivity of IgM antibodies. SARs-CoV-2 PCR positivity did not significantly predict IgG (p = 0.457 [95% CI 0.514- 4.371]) and IgM (p = 0.858 [95% CI 0.350-2.395]) positivity. Conclusion Our data indicate a high seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in western Kenya. This suggests larger fraction of the population were infected with SARS-CoV-2 within the defined period than what PCR testing could cover.
Aerosol inhalation is increasingly well recognized as a major if not primary mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, three highly transmissible lineages evolved and became globally dominant. One hypothesis to explain increased transmissibility is that natural selection favours variants with higher rates of viral aerosol shedding. However, the extent of aerosol shedding of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that viral shedding (measured as RNA copies) into exhaled breath aerosol was significantly greater during infections with Alpha, Delta, and Omicron than with ancestral strains and variants not associated with increased transmissibility. The three highly transmissible variants independently evolved a high viral aerosol shedding phenotype, demonstrating convergent evolution. We did not observe statistically significant differences in rates of shedding between Alpha, Delta, and Omicron infections. The highest shedder in our study, however, had an Omicron infection and shed three orders of magnitude more viral RNA copies than the maximum observed for Delta and Alpha. Our results also show that fully vaccinated and boosted individuals, when infected, can shed infectious SARS-CoV-2 via exhaled breath aerosols. These findings provide additional evidence that inhalation of infectious aerosols is the dominant mode of transmission and emphasize the importance of ventilation, filtration, and air disinfection to mitigate the pandemic and protect vulnerable populations. We anticipate that monitoring aerosol shedding from new SARS-CoV-2 variants and emerging pathogens will be an important component of future threat assessments and will help guide interventions to prevent transmission via inhalation exposure.
We estimated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality in Brazil for 2020 and 2021 years. We used mortality data (2015-2021) from the Health Ministry, Brazil government, to fit linear mixed models for forecasting baseline deaths under non-pandemic conditions. An advantage of the linear mixed model is the flexibility to capture year-trend while dealing with the correlations among death counts over time. Following a specified model building strategy, estimation of all-cause excess deaths at the country level and stratified by sex, age, ethnicity and region of residence, from March 2020 to August 2021. We also considered the estimation of excess deaths by specific causes. Estimated all-cause excess deaths was 199,108 (95% PI: 171,007; 227,209, P-Score=17.3%) for weeks 10-53, 2020, and 417,167 (95% PI: 372,075; 462,259, P-Score=50.1%) for weeks 1-32, 2021. P-scores ranged from 5.4% (RS, South) to 36.2% (AM, North) in 2020 and from 29.3% (AL, Northeast) to 94.9%$ (RO, North) in 2021. Differences among men (18.9%) and women (14.2%) appeared in 2020 only, and the P-scores were about 51% for both sexes in 2021. Except for youngsters (<20 years old), all adult age groups were badly hit, especially those from 40 to 79 years old. In 2020, the Indigenous+East Asian population had the highest P-score (27%), and the Black population suffered the greatest impact (61.9%) in 2021. The pandemic impact had enormous regional heterogeneity and substantial differences according to socio-demographic factors, mainly during the first wave, showing some population strata benefits from the social distancing measures when able to adhere to them. In the second wave, the burden was very high for all but extremely high for some, highlighting our society needs to tackle the health inequalities experienced by groups of different socio-demographic and economic status.
Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may induce short- and long-term cognitive failures after recovery, but the underlying risk factors are still a matter of debate. Identifying patients at the highest risk is now a research priority to prevent persistent symptoms after recovery. In this study, we investigated whether: (i) the odds of experiencing persistent cognitive failures may differ based on the patients9 disease course severity and sex; (ii) the patients9 electrolytic profile at the acute stage may represent a risk factor for persistent cognitive failures. Methods: We analysed data from 204 patients suffering from COVID-19 and hospitalised during the first pandemic wave. According to the 7-point WHO-OS Scale, their disease course was classified as severe (if the patient needed ventilation) or mild (if they did not). We investigated the presence of persistent cognitive failures using a modified version of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, collected after hospital discharge, while electrolyte profiles were collected during hospitalisation. We explored our hypotheses via logistic regression models. Results: Females who suffered from mild COVID-19 were more likely to report mental fatigue than those with severe COVID-19 (β= 0.29, 95%CI [0.06; 0.53], p= 0.01). Furthermore, they present a statistically significant risk effect of Na+ alteration at the acute phase on the odds of presenting persistent mental fatigue (β= 0.37, 95%CI [0.09; 0.64], p= 0.01). Interpretation: These findings have important implications for the clinical management of COVID-19 hospitalised patients. Attention should be paid to potential electrolyte imbalances, mainly in females suffering from mild COVID-19.
Background: COVID-19 has negative impacts on mental health in all populations. Individuals with a history of cancer have an increased risk of catching and having more severe symptoms of COVID-19 than the general public. The objective of this study was to examine how cancer history and concern for catching COVID-19 relate to anxiety.<br /><br />Methods: This cross-sectional study is part of the “Impact of COVID-19 on Behaviors across the Cancer Control Continuum in Ohio” project conducted from June to November 2020. The sample consisted of 7012 participants who completed survey online, by phone, or by mail. Self-reported concern for catching COVID-19 and anxiety over the last 7 days were used. Linear and logistic regression models were performed to determine the association between demographics, cancer history, concern for catching COVID-19, and anxiety.<br /><br />Results: In our study sample, most participants rated their concern for catching COVID- 19 as moderately high or high (56%) and reported anxiety for one day or more (63%). Individuals with a cancer history were more likely to report moderate-high or high concern for catching COVID-19 (59% vs.54%, P<0.001) but less likely to report anxiety (58% vs. 67%, P<0.001) compared to those without a cancer history. Individuals with higher SES were less likely to report anxiety (middle vs. low SES: OR=0.68, 95%CI=0.59-0.79; high vs. low SES: OR=0.70, 95%CI=0.61-0.82). Additionally, increased concern for catching COVID-19 was associated with higher likelihood of reporting anxiety (moderate-low vs. low: OR=1.65, 95%CI=1.42-1.92; moderate-high vs. low: OR=2.98, 95%CI=2.53-3.50; high vs. low: OR=4.35, 95%CI=3.74-5.07).<br /><br />Conclusions: Our findings suggest individuals with a cancer history reported higher concern for catching COVID-19. Higher concern for catching COVID was associated with anxiety. These findings indicate that healthcare providers should pay special attention to the different populations to reduce concerns for catching COVID-19 and provide strategies to improve mental health during a pandemic outbreak.<br />
Funding: This study was supported by a supplement to The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) core support grant ( P30 CA016058), and the OSUCCC The Recruitment, Intervention and Survey Shared Resource (RISSR)( P30 CA016058).The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science grant support (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant UL1TR001070) in publications relating to this project. This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (F99CA253745 to X.Z.).
Puerto Rico COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Study - Condition: COVID-19
Intervention: Other: Educational intervention
Sponsors: University of Puerto Rico; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Recruiting
A Study to Learn About a New COVID-19 RNA Vaccine Candidate as a Booster Dose in COVID-19 Vaccine-Experienced Healthy Adults - Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: BNT162b5 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.2); Biological: BNT162b2 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.1)
Sponsors: BioNTech SE; Pfizer
Not yet recruiting
Monitoring the Efficacy of a Probiotic Dietary Supplement SmartProbio C in Patients With Severe COVID-19 Infection - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Dietary Supplement: SmartProbio C; Dietary Supplement: Placebo
Sponsors: Medi Pharma Vision; Veterinary Research Institute; Brno University Hospital
Completed
Beta-glucans for Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19 - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: MC 3x3; Drug: Placebo
Sponsors: Concentra Educacion e Investigación Biomédica; Wohlstand Pharmaceutical
Not yet recruiting
An Observer-blind, Cohort Randomized, Exploratory Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant Covid-19 Vaccine, mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine and Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Trimeric S-protein Subunit Vaccine as 4th Dose in Individuals Primed/ Boosted With Various Regimens - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz; Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth; Biological: Clover SCB-2019
Sponsors: D’Or Institute for Research and Education; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; University of Oxford
Not yet recruiting
Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Interventions: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Recruiting
Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Interventions: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated; Biological: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna); Biological: Viral Vector COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca)
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on Post Hospitalization Severe COVID- 19 Patients - Condition: Post COVID-19 Condition
Intervention: Combination Product: respiratory exercises - incentive spirometer - walking
Sponsor: Fayoum University Hospital
Completed
Physiotherapy in Post COVID-19 Syndrome Patients - Condition: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
Interventions: Other: Cognitive behavioral principles-based treatment program; Other: Control intervention
Sponsor: Universidad de Granada
Recruiting
Rehabilitation for People With Post COVID-19 Syndrome - Condition: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
Interventions: Other: Multidimensional intervention; Other: Control intervention
Sponsor: Universidad de Granada
Recruiting
Xanthohumol as an Adjuvant Therapy in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - Condition: COVID-19 Respiratory Infection
Intervention: Biological: Xanthohumol - prenylated chalcone extracted from female inflorescences of hop cones (Humulus lupus). Hop-RXn™, BioActive-Tech Ltd, Lublin, Poland; http://xanthohumol.com.pl/
Sponsor: Medical University of Lublin
Suspended
A Clinical Trial of Immuno-bridging Between Different Manufacture Scales of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) - Conditions: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia
Intervention: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell)
Sponsor: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
A CHW Intervention to Identify and Decrease Barriers to COVID 19 Testing & Vaccination - Conditions: Vaccine Hesitancy; COVID-19 Testing; Community Health Workers
Intervention: Behavioral: Community Health Worker led curriculum
Sponsors: Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Recruiting
Study to Evaluate Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 6 Months to < 12 Years - Condition: COVID-19
Interventions: Biological: Biological/Vaccine: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Initial Vaccination Period); Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Open Label Crossover Vaccination period); Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Booster Vaccination); Other: Placebo
Sponsor: Novavax
Recruiting
A Phase II/III Study of PIKA Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine as a Booster Dose. - Condition: Covid-19 Vaccine
Intervention: Biological: PIKA COVID-19 vaccine
Sponsor: Yisheng Biopharma (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
Not yet recruiting
FACT subunit SUPT16H associates with BRD4 and contributes to silencing of interferon signaling - FACT (FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription) is a heterodimeric protein complex composed of SUPT16H and SSRP1, and a histone chaperone participating in chromatin remodeling during gene transcription. FACT complex is profoundly regulated, and contributes to both gene activation and suppression. Here we reported that SUPT16H, a subunit of FACT, is acetylated in both epithelial and natural killer (NK) cells. The histone acetyltransferase TIP60 contributes to the acetylation of SUPT16H middle domain…
Secondary Immunodeficiency in Rheumatology - Secondary Immunodeficiency in Rheumatology Abstract. For the treatment of autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases an immunosuppressive therapy with conventional, small molecule or biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) plays a key role. This may lead to secondary immunodeficiency with an increased risk for infections, which we discuss in the present article. The risk for reactivation of chronic hepatitis B increases particularly with glucocorticoid dosages of ≥ 20mg/d for…
COVID-19 Pandemic and SMEs Performance Decline: The Mediating Role of Management Innovation and Organizational Resilience - It is a major practical problem to find out a pathway for firms to quickly recover from the performance decline in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and other sudden major crisis in the current academic circles. Based on event system theory and structural adjustment to regain fit model, this paper empirically explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs performance decline and discusses the management innovation response and organizational resilience mechanism of firms by virtue of…
An Efficient Modern Strategy to Screen Drug Candidates Targeting RdRp of SARS-CoV-2 With Potentially High Selectivity and Specificity - Desired drug candidates should have both a high potential binding chance and high specificity. Recently, many drug screening strategies have been developed to screen compounds with high possible binding chances or high binding affinity. However, there is still no good solution to detect whether those selected compounds possess high specificity. Here, we developed a reverse DFCNN (Dense Fully Connected Neural Network) and a reverse docking protocol to check a given compound’s ability to bind…
Addition of Camellia sinensis extract to water to disinfect respiratory viruses accumulated over different surfaces - New precautions have become part of our daily life since COVID-19 pandemic such as wearing masks, maintaining distance and disinfecting products bought from markets before using them which is exhausting. We aimed to test the inhibitory effect of Camellia sinensis (black tea) water extracts on respiratory viruses and the inhibition of viruses accumulated over different surface types after being soaked in water supplemented with the extracts. Two water extraction methods (extract A: maceration at…
Robust antiviral activity of commonly prescribed antidepressants against emerging coronaviruses: in vitro and in silico drug repurposing studies - During the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, symptoms of depression are commonly documented among both symptomatic and asymptomatic quarantined COVID-19 patients. Despite that many of the FDA-approved drugs have been showed anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro and remarkable efficacy against COVID-19 in clinical trials, no pharmaceutical products have yet been declared to be fully effective for treating COVID-19. Antidepressants comprise five major drug classes for the treatment…
Optimization and evaluation of a live virus SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay - Virus neutralization assays provide a means to quantitate functional antibody responses that block virus infection. These assays are instrumental in defining vaccine and therapeutic antibody potency, immune evasion by viral variants, and post-infection immunity. Here we describe the development, optimization and evaluation of a live virus microneutralization assay specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this assay, SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolates are…
Urtica dioica Agglutinin: A plant protein candidate for inhibition of SARS-COV-2 receptor-binding domain for control of Covid19 Infection - Despite using effective drugs and vaccines for Covid 19, due to some limitations of current strategies and the high rate of coronavirus mutation, the development of medicines with effective inhibitory activity against this infection is essential. The SARS-CoV-2 enters the cell by attaching its receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Spike to angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2). According to previous studies, the natural peptide Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) exhibited an antiviral effect on…
DMV biogenesis during β-coronavirus infection requires autophagy proteins VMP1 and TMEM41B - Upon entering host cells, β-coronaviruses specifically induce generation of replication organelles (ROs) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through their nonstructural protein 3 (nsp3) and nsp4 for viral genome transcription and replication. The most predominant ROs are double-membrane vesicles (DMVs). The ER-resident proteins VMP1 and TMEM41B, which form a complex to regulate autophagosome and lipid droplet (LD) formation, were recently shown to be essential for β-coronavirus infection. Here…
An Update on Promising Agents against COVID-19: Secondary Metabolites and Mechanistic Aspects - CONCLUSION: Prospective treatments targeted at the life cycle stages of the virus may eventuate from research endeavors, and it must not be discounted that therapy originally derived from plant secondary metabolite sources may potentially have a part to play.
Propofol directly binds to and inhibits TLR7 - Sedatives/anesthetics are important medical tools to facilitate medical care and increase patients’ comfort. Increasingly, there is recognition that sedatives/anesthetics can modulate immune functions. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are major pattern recognition receptors involved in the recognition of microbial components. TLR7 recognizes single-strand RNA virus such as influenza and SARS-CoV2 viruses and initiates interferon (IFN) responses. IFN production triggered by TLR7 stimulation is a…
Equine Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Serum (ECIG) Binds to Mutated RBDs and N Proteins of Variants of Concern and Inhibits the Binding of RBDs to ACE-2 Receptor - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been around since November 2019. As of early June 2022, more than 527 million cases were diagnosed, with more than 6.0 million deaths due to this disease. Coronaviruses accumulate mutations and generate greater diversity through recombination when variants with different mutations infect the same host. Consequently, this virus is predisposed to constant and diverse mutations. The SARS-CoV-2 variants of…
Potent and Selective Covalent Inhibition of the Papain-like Protease from SARS-CoV-2 - Direct-acting antivirals are needed to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The papain-like protease (PLpro) domain of Nsp3 from SARS-CoV-2 is essential for viral replication. In addition, PLpro dysregulates the host immune response by cleaving ubiquitin and interferon-stimulated gene 15 protein (ISG15) from host proteins. As a result, PLpro is a promising target for inhibition by small-molecule therapeutics….
Cellular and Molecular Mechanism of Pulmonary Fibrosis Post-COVID-19: Focus on Galectin-1, -3, -8, -9 - Pulmonary fibrosis is a consequence of the pathological accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), which finally leads to lung scarring. Although the pulmonary fibrogenesis is almost known, the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its post effects added new particularities which need to be explored. Many questions remain about how pulmonary fibrotic changes occur within the lungs of COVID-19 patients, and whether the…
An anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic proprietary Chinese medicine nasal spray designated as Allergic Rhinitis Nose Drops (ARND) with potential to prevent SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection by targeting RBD (Delta)- angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding - CONCLUSION: ARND could be considered as a safe anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent with potential to prevent SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.