scholarly journals Surfactant-based therapy against COVID-19: A review

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-415
Author(s):  
Sk Mehebub Rahaman ◽  
Budhadeb Chowdhury ◽  
Animesh Acharjee ◽  
Bula Singh ◽  
Bidyut Saha

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to serious health and economic damage to all over the world, and it still remains unstoppable. The SARS-CoV-2, by using its S-glycoprotein, binds with an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor, mostly present in alveolar epithelial type II cells. Eventually pulmonary surfactant depletion occurs. The pulmonary surfactant is necessary for maintaining the natural immunity as well as the surface tension reduction within the lung alveoli during the expiration. Its insufficiency results in the reduction of blood oxygenation, poor pulmonary regeneration, lung fibrosis, and finally the respiratory system collapses. Exogenous surfactants have previously shown great promise in the treatment of infant respiratory distress syndrome, and they may also aid in the healing of damaged alveolar cells and the prevention of respiratory failure. Surfactant based therapy has been advised for the prevention of COVID-19, and the trials have begun around the world. Furthermore, greater research on the timing, dose, and the distribution of surfactant to the COVID-19 patients is required before this technique can be implemented in clinical practice.

Author(s):  
Sony Ahmed ◽  
Md. Shamim Akter ◽  
Kallol Roy ◽  
Md. Shafiul Islam

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered coronavirus. Coronavirus affects human lung tissues. Covid-19 should be infection of the lungs, the virus infects alveolar cells resulting in reduced production of pulmonary surfactant. Pulmonary surfactant is a complex of lipids and proteins that line the alveolar epithelial surface and stabilize it during respiration. The surfactant helps to reduce the surface tension on alveoli. The surface-active components of the alveoli are a complex mixture of specific lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, which is produced in the lungs by type II alveolar epithelial cells. As a result, the lungs continue to collapse, reducing its own volume, but the collapse is prevented by the muscles of inspiration, which instead increase its volume. Covid-19 allows the surfactant to maintain the correct amount of surfactant during the acute phase of infection during lung infection and allows time to resume and allow individual surfactant production for type II cells. Surfactant degradation or inactivation may contribute to increased susceptibility to pneumonia and increased susceptibility to infection. Surfactant deficiency in patients with acute respiratory syndrome in adults and surfactant administration may be a useful therapy against Covid-19.


EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Demian F. Gomez ◽  
Jiri Hulcr ◽  
Daniel Carrillo

Invasive species, those that are nonnative and cause economic damage, are one of the main threats to ecosystems around the world. Ambrosia beetles are some of the most common invasive insects. Currently, severe economic impacts have been increasingly reported for all the invasive shot hole borers in South Africa, California, Israel, and throughout Asia. This 7-page fact sheet written by Demian F. Gomez, Jiri Hulcr, and Daniel Carrillo and published by the School of Forest Resources and Conservation describes shot hole borers and their biology and hosts and lists some strategies for prevention and control of these pests. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr422


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuefei Jin ◽  
Wangquan Ji ◽  
Haiyan Yang ◽  
Shuaiyin Chen ◽  
Weiguo Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractOn 12 March 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. As of 4 August 2020, more than 18 million confirmed infections had been reported globally. Most patients have mild symptoms, but some patients develop respiratory failure which is the leading cause of death among COVID-19 patients. Endothelial cells with high levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 expression are major participants and regulators of inflammatory reactions and coagulation. Accumulating evidence suggests that endothelial activation and dysfunction participate in COVID-19 pathogenesis by altering the integrity of vessel barrier, promoting pro-coagulative state, inducing endothelial inflammation, and even mediating leukocyte infiltration. This review describes the proposed cellular and molecular mechanisms of endothelial activation and dysfunction during COVID-19 emphasizing the principal mediators and therapeutic implications.


2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (2) ◽  
pp. L141-L151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Shigeta ◽  
Yuji Tada ◽  
Ji-Yang Wang ◽  
Shunsuke Ishizaki ◽  
Junichi Tsuyusaki ◽  
...  

Excessive apoptosis and prolonged inflammation of alveolar cells are associated with the pathogenesis of pulmonary emphysema. We aimed to determine whether CD40 affects alveolar epithelial cells and endothelial cells, with regard to evoking apoptosis and inflammation. Mice were repeatedly treated with agonistic-anti CD40 antibody (Ab), with or without agonistic-anti Fas Ab, and evaluated for apoptosis and inflammation in lungs. Human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells were treated with agonistic anti-CD40 Ab and/or anti-Fas Ab to see their direct effect on apoptosis and secretion of proinflammatory molecules in vitro. Furthermore, plasma soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) level was evaluated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In mice, inhaling agonistic anti-CD40 Ab induced moderate alveolar enlargement. CD40 stimulation, in combination with anti-Fas Ab, induced significant emphysematous changes and increased alveolar cell apoptosis. CD40 stimulation also enhanced IFN-γ-mediated emphysematous changes, not via apoptosis induction, but via inflammation with lymphocyte accumulation. In vitro, Fas-mediated apoptosis was enhanced by CD40 stimulation and IFN-γ in endothelial cells and by CD40 stimulation in epithelial cells. CD40 stimulation induced secretion of CCR5 ligands in endothelial cells, enhanced with IFN-γ. Plasma sCD40L levels were significantly increased in patients with COPD, inversely correlating to the percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s and positively correlating to low attenuation area score by CT scan, regardless of smoking history. Collectively CD40 plays a contributing role in the development of pulmonary emphysema by sensitizing Fas-mediated apoptosis in alveolar cells and increasing the secretion of proinflammatory chemokines.


Author(s):  
Milad Zandi ◽  
Saber Soltani ◽  
Mona Fani ◽  
Haniye Shafipour ◽  
Samaneh Abbasi

SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is responsible for the recent pandemic in the world. It has been recently recognized as a challenge for public health and a significant cause of severe illness in all age groups. Young children and older people are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, children usually present mild symptoms compared to adult patients. The relationship between age, severity, and COVID-19 transmission is compared to determine whether there is any reasonable relationship between age and COVID-19. It should be mentioned that some risk factors may increase the probability of developing severe COVID-19 by advancing age, such as pathophysiological changes in the respiratory system, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 expression in the nasopharynx, and smoking. Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection is independent of age, but the mortality rate of COVID-19 depends on age.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Il'ichev

Abstract G. molesta is a serious pest of economic importance of commercial stone and pome fruits around the world. G. molesta damages peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, apricots, apples, pears, quinces and nashi (Asian pears) and can also attack and cause economic damage on other commercial fruits. In severe attacks, young trees can suffer distortion of growing shoots and stems, which makes pruning, training and shaping the tree canopy difficult, particularly for close-planting industrial systems such as Tatura trellis. One larva can damage many shoots by tunnelling deep into young shoot tips. Larvae move to feed on the green fruits usually after shoots mature and harden. One larva can damage many fruits, particularly when fruits are located close to each other.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 107-113
Author(s):  
Iaroslav Petrunenko ◽  
Oleg Podtserkovnyi

Complex and contradictory processes of modern social transformations and the need to overcome the crisis in the economy require the appropriate influence of the state and a clear system of socio-economic management through the formation and implementation of effective state economic policy. The main elements of economic policy are financial and credit, budgetary, scientific and technical, structural, social, investment, agricultural, regional, foreign economic policy. The implementation of state economic policy is considered in terms of the relationship between social problems and the state. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to study the essence, tools and methods of state economic policy in modern conditions. It is also necessary to identify the main risks and features of further development of state economic policy of individual states in a global imbalance and crisis. The theoretical part is devoted to the study of the essence of state economic policy, theoretical and practical aspects of its organization in the state, as well as tools that can be used by the state. The resulting part is devoted to the consideration of the situation, in which the world economy has found itself in 2020 in the conditions of the economic COVID-19 crisis. General forecasts have not provided to individual states because it has been impossible to predict the end of the pandemic and the return of the world to normal life. However, it is clear that the world economy has undergone irreversible processes that will synergistically affect different states in different ways. The crisis has hit a significant number of industries, including tourism, logistics, hotel business, the crisis has been felt in world markets: oil prices have collapsed, as well as the stock markets. Undoubtedly, there are areas with a rapid growth, especially the pharmaceutical industry and retail, online delivery services, IT entertainment and communications industry, information marketing business and education and training services. It is likely that the indicators of economic development in the states by the end of the year will be better than the results of the first half of the year. The basic forecast of economic world development assumes a sharp growth of the economy after a short recession after quarantine. The financial capabilities of the EU states vary considerably, but each state must pursue counter-cyclical policies aimed at stabilizing its own economy. The answer to the question of what kind of crisis response policy they can afford depends on the fiscal policy of the states before the crisis. In economically developed states, where emergency measures have been introduced, governments and central banks issue trillions of dollars in government spending, social support of citizens, and interest-free business loans to limit the economic damage of quarantine. At the same time, in Latin America and Southeast Asia, total quarantine is impossible in multi-million cities. Such states have a triple effect of suffering from the virus, the environment and poverty. States dependent on the export of natural resources and raw materials, when faced with the crisis, are forced to sell them for nothing, so they will suffer great losses. More than 150 states have set up anti-crisis headquarters and are taking anti-crisis measures. The authors have also tried to predict how largescale the global economic crisis will be for Ukraine, what consequences await it, and what measures need to be taken to overcome it.


Author(s):  
Saurabh Aggarwal ◽  
Ahmed Lazrak ◽  
Israr Ahmad ◽  
Zhihong Yu ◽  
Ayesha Bryant ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe previously reported that cell-free heme (CFH) is increased in the plasma of patients with acute and chronic lung injury and causes pulmonary edema in animal model of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) post inhalation of halogen gas. However, the mechanisms by which CFH causes pulmonary edema are unclear. Herein we report for the first time the presence of CFH and chlorinated lipids (formed by the interaction of halogen gas, Cl2, with plasmalogens) in the plasma of patients and mice exposed to Cl2 gas. Ex vivo incubation of red blood cells (RBC) with halogenated lipids caused oxidative damage to RBC cytoskeletal protein spectrin, resulting in hemolysis and release of CFH. A single intramuscular injection of the heme-scavenging protein hemopexin (4 µg/kg body weight) in mice, one hour post halogen exposure, reversed RBC fragility and decreased CFH levels to those of air controls. Patch clamp and short circuit current measurements revealed that CFH inhibited the activity of amiloride-sensitive (ENaC) and cation sodium (Na+) channels in mouse alveolar cells and trans-epithelial Na+ transport across human airway cells with EC50 of 125 nM and 500 nM, respectively. Molecular modeling identified 22 putative heme-docking sites on ENaC (energy of binding range: 86-1563 kJ/mol) with at least 2 sites within its narrow transmembrane pore, potentially capable of blocking Na+ transport across the channel. In conclusion, results suggested that CFH mediated inhibition of ENaC activity may be responsible for pulmonary edema post inhalation injury.


Check List ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1627-1631
Author(s):  
Yan Felipe Figueira Soares ◽  
Maria Júlia Martins-Silva

Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) is an Asian freshwater clam that is widely distributed throughout the world through multiple introductions. Its invasion can cause environmental and economic damage. In Brazil, C. fluminea is recorded in all major hydrographic basins. Here, we report the first record of C. fluminea in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region of Goiás, Brazil. This new record extends the known distribution of this species to a conserved area in the Cerrado biome, towards areas of interest for conservation and integral protection units of the biodiversity.


2006 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bell ◽  
J.-E. Kruse ◽  
A. Garcia ◽  
T. Glade ◽  
A. Hördt

Abstract. Landslides occur frequently all over the world, causing at times considerable economic damage, injuries and even death. In order to improve hazard assessment, common landslide types of a given region need to be investigated in detail. While traditional techniques of subsurface investigation are expensive and only provide point information, geophysical methods are suitable tools for gathering 2D and 3D information on the subsurface quickly, reliably and cost-effectively. In this study, the suitability and limitations of 2D resistivity for the determination of landslide extent, structure and soil moisture conditions are presented. For this purpose, two identical profiles were taken during a two-month period. Significant differences in electrical resistivity (>1000 Ωm) due to varying soil moisture conditions were observed. Using various inversion parameters, it was possible to model two distinct subsurface images. Regrettably, the sliding plane could not be detected reliably, possibly due to the homogeniety of the landslide material and underlying bedrock.


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