A Multi-Epitope Vaccine Designed Against Blood-Stage of Malaria: An Immunoinformatic And Structural Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Atapour ◽  
Parisa Vosough ◽  
Somayeh Jafari ◽  
Gholamreza Anani Sarab
Keyword(s):  
Complex Disease ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Blood Stage ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Epitope Vaccine ◽  
Fusion Construct ◽  
Potential Vaccine

Abstract Malaria is a complex disease caused by genus Plasmodiumis parasites and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The most severe form of malaria disease is caused by Plasmodium falciparum. A combination of different approaches is needed to control malaria, and on the other hand, resistance to first-line drugs and insecticides makes the need for an effective vaccine more mandatory than ever. Erythrocyte parasites have the most clinical symptoms, so designing the potential vaccine for this stage of infection could be very helpful. In this research, we used various bioinformatics tools to design an effective antibody-inducing multi-epitope vaccine against the blood-stage of malaria infection. For this purpose, we selected the malaria PfGARP protein as the target here. The predicted B and HTL epitopes and flagellin molecule (as an adjuvant) were connected with suitable linkers and the final construct vaccine was designed. The various properties of this construct, including physicochemical properties, 3D structures, molecular docking, molecular simulations, and in silico cloning were then carried out. Based on preliminary findings, our designed fusion construct could be proposed as a novel potential vaccine candidate against Malaria. However, in vitro and in vivo studies are essential for further validation.

scholarly journals 3D Printed Biomodels for Flow Visualization in Stenotic Vessels: An Experimental and Numerical Study

Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 549
Author(s):  
Violeta Carvalho ◽  
Nelson Rodrigues ◽  
Ricardo Ribeiro ◽  
Pedro F. Costa ◽  
Rui A. Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Complex Disease ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Microscopy Technique ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

Atherosclerosis is one of the most serious and common forms of cardiovascular disease and a major cause of death and disability worldwide. It is a multifactorial and complex disease that promoted several hemodynamic studies. Although in vivo studies more accurately represent the physiological conditions, in vitro experiments more reliably control several physiological variables and most adequately validate numerical flow studies. Here, a hemodynamic study in idealized stenotic and healthy coronary arteries is presented by applying both numerical and in vitro approaches through computational fluid dynamics simulations and a high-speed video microscopy technique, respectively. By means of stereolithography 3D printing technology, biomodels with three different resolutions were used to perform experimental flow studies. The results showed that the biomodel printed with a resolution of 50 μm was able to most accurately visualize flow due to its lowest roughness values (Ra = 1.8 μm). The flow experimental results showed a qualitatively good agreement with the blood flow numerical data, providing a clear observation of recirculation regions when the diameter reduction reached 60%.

Safety Evaluation of a Proprietary Food-Grade, Dried Fermentate Preparation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander G. Schauss ◽  
R. Glavits ◽  
John Endres ◽  
Gitte S. Jensen ◽  
Amy Clewell
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Oral Toxicity ◽  
Toxicity Studies ◽  
Adverse Effect Level ◽  
Effect Level

A safety evaluation was performed for EpiCor, a product produced by a proprietary fermentation process using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Studies included the following assays: bacterial reverse mutation, mouse lymphoma cell mutagenicity, mitogenicity assay in human peripheral lymphocytes, and a cytochrome P450 ([CYP] CYP1A2 and CYP3A4) induction assessment as well as 14-day acute, 90-day subchronic, and 1-year chronic oral toxicity studies in rats. No evidence of genotoxicity or mitogenicity was seen in any of the in vitro or in vivo studies. The CYP assessment showed no interactions or inductions. No toxic clinical symptoms or histopathological lesions were observed in the acute, subchronic, or chronic oral toxicity studies in the rat. Results of the studies performed indicate that EpiCor does not possess genotoxic activity and has a low order of toxicity that is well tolerated when administered orally. The no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) was 1500 mg/kg body weight (bw)/d for the 90-day study and 800 mg/kg bw/d for the 1 year study, for the highest doses tested.

Review on Adverse effects or side effects of Remdisivir

2021 ◽  
pp. 162-166
Author(s):  
Ganesh G. Dhakad ◽  
Rohit V. Patil ◽  
Tejas I. Chaudhari ◽  
Paresh A. Patil.
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
World Health ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Rater Agreement

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic. To date, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has spread to over 200 countries, leading to over 1.6 million cases and over 99,000 deaths. Given that there is neither a vaccine nor proven treatment for COVID-19, there is currently an urgent need for effective pharmacotherapy. To address the need for an effective treatment of SARS-CoV-2 during the worldwide pandemic, this systematic review of intravenous (IV) remdesivir was performed. Remdesivir, an anti-viral prodrug originally developed to treat Ebola virus disease, has shown broad spectrum activity against the Coronavirus family. A recent case report reported improvement of clinical symptoms with remdesivir in a patient with COVID-19. After conducting a systematic search of 18 clinical trial registries and three large scientific databases, we identified 86 potentially eligible items. Following removal of duplicates (n = 21), eligible studies were reviewed independently by two authors. After the first round of screening, inter-rater agreement was 98.5% (κ = 0.925). After the second round of full-text screening, inter-rater agreement was 100%. A total of seven ongoing and recruiting clinical trials of remdesivir (100–200 milligrams, intravenous [IV]) were included. We identified the following primary outcomes: patients discharged (n = 2); time to clinical status improvement (n = 2); improved O2 saturation (n = 2); body temperature normalization (n = 2); and clinical status (n = 1). Secondary outcomes in all identified studies included documentation of adverse events. Phase 3 trials are expected to be completed between April 2020–2023. Therefore, despite supportive data from in vitro and in vivo studies, the clinical effectiveness of IV remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19 and potential side effects remain incompletely defined in the human population. But the remdesivir is also harmful for the people because of it can have some side effects such as mentioned in the following information. There are so many type of disease started form the treatment of COVID-19 with the Remdesivir that also mentioned in the following review paper.

scholarly journals Leishmania spp Epitopes in Humans Naturally Resistant to the Disease: Working Toward a Synthetic Vaccine

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Melissa Flórez ◽  
Rocío Rodríguez ◽  
José Antonio Cabrera ◽  
Sara M. Robledo ◽  
Gabriela Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Epitope Prediction ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear

Vaccines are one of the most effective strategies to fight infectious diseases. Reverse vaccinology strategies provide tools to perform in silico screening and a rational selection of potential candidates on a large scale before reaching in vitro and in vivo evaluations. Leishmania infection in humans produces clinical symptoms in some individuals, while another part of the population is naturally resistant (asymptomatic course) to the disease, and therefore their immune response controls parasite replication. By the identification of epitopes directly in humans, especially in those resistant to the disease, the probabilities of designing an effective vaccine are higher. The aim of this work was the identification of Leishmania epitopes in resistant humans. To achieve that, 11 peptide sequences (from Leishmania antigenic proteins) were selected using epitope prediction tools, and then, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from human volunteers who were previously divided into four clinical groups: susceptible, resistant, exposed and not exposed to the parasite. The induction of inflammatory cytokines and lymphoproliferation was assessed using monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) as antigen-presenting cells (APCs). The response was evaluated after exposing volunteers’ cells to each peptide. As a result, we learned that STI41 and STI46 peptides induced IL-8 and IL-12 in moDCs and lymphoproliferation and low levels of IL-10 in lymphocytes differentially in resistant volunteers, similar behavior to that observed in those individuals to L. panamensis lysate antigens. We conclude that, in silico analysis allowed for the identification of natural Leishmania epitopes in humans, and also STI41 and STI46 peptides could be epitopes that lead to a cellular immune response directed at parasite control.

scholarly journals Designing a new multi epitope-based vaccine against COVID-19 disease: an immunoinformatic study based on reverse vaccinology approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afshin Samimi Nemati ◽  
Majid Tafrihi ◽  
Fatemeh Sheikhi ◽  
Abolfazl Rostamian Tabari ◽  
Amirhossein Haditabar
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Epitope Vaccine ◽  
Mhc I ◽  
Mhc Ii ◽  
Refinement Process

Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has currently caused a significant pandemic among worldwide populations. The transmission speed and the high rate of mortality caused by the disease necessitate studies for the rapid designing and effective vaccine production. The purpose of this study is to predict and design a novel multi-epitope vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using bioinformatics approaches. Coronavirus envelope proteins, ORF7b, ORF8, ORF10, and NSP9 were selected as targets for epitope mapping using IEDB and BepiPred 2.0 Servers. Also, molecular docking studies were performed to determine the candidate vaccine's affinity to TLR3, TLR4, MHC I, and MHC II molecules. Thirteen epitopes were selected to construct the multi-epitope vaccine. We found that the constructed peptide has valuable antigenicity, stability, and appropriate half-life. The Ramachandran plot approved the quality of the predicted model after the refinement process. Molecular docking investigations revealed that antibody-mode in the Cluspro 2.0 server showed the lowest binding energy for MHCI, MHCII, TLR3, and TLR4. This study confirmed that the designed vaccine has a good antigenicity and stability and could be a proper vaccine candidate against the COVID-19 infectious disease though, in vitro and in vivo experiments are necessary to complete and confirm our results.

scholarly journals Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Mediating Methylmercury Neurotoxicity and Neuroinflammation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3101
Author(s):  
João P. Novo ◽  
Beatriz Martins ◽  
Ramon S. Raposo ◽  
Frederico C. Pereira ◽  
Reinaldo B. Oriá ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Molecular Alterations ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Cell Death Mechanisms

Methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity is a major environmental concern. In the aquatic reservoir, MeHg bioaccumulates along the food chain until it is consumed by riverine populations. There has been much interest in the neurotoxicity of MeHg due to recent environmental disasters. Studies have also addressed the implications of long-term MeHg exposure for humans. The central nervous system is particularly susceptible to the deleterious effects of MeHg, as evidenced by clinical symptoms and histopathological changes in poisoned humans. In vitro and in vivo studies have been crucial in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying MeHg-induced neurotoxicity. A collection of cellular and molecular alterations including cytokine release, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, Ca2+ and glutamate dyshomeostasis, and cell death mechanisms are important consequences of brain cells exposure to MeHg. The purpose of this review is to organize an overview of the mercury cycle and MeHg poisoning events and to summarize data from cellular, animal, and human studies focusing on MeHg effects in neurons and glial cells. This review proposes an up-to-date compendium that will serve as a starting point for further studies and a consultation reference of published studies.

scholarly journals Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamics of Phytochemicals Derived from Saudi Medicinal Plants to Identify Potential COVID-19 Therapeutics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
MUBARAK ALAMRI ◽  
Ali Altharawi ◽  
Alhumaidi B. Alabbas ◽  
Manal A. Alossaimi ◽  
Safar M. Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Traditional Medicines ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Computational Screening ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected almost every country in the world by causing a global pandemic with a high mortality rate. Lack of an effective vaccine and/or antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent, has severely hampered the response to this novel coronavirus. Natural products have long been used in traditional medicines to treat various diseases, and purified phytochemicals from medicinal plants provide a valuable scaffold for the discovery of new drug leads. In the present study, we performed a computational screening of an in-house database composed of ~1000 phytochemicals derived from traditional Saudi medicinal plants with recognised antiviral activity. Structure-based virtual screening was carried out against three druggable SARS-CoV-2 targets, viral RNAdependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) and papain like protease (PLpro) to identify putative inhibitors that could facilitate the development of potential anti-COVID-19 drug candidates. Computational analyses identified three compounds inhibiting each target, with binding affinity scores ranging from-9.9 to -6.5 kcal/mol. Among these, luteolin 7-rutinoside, chrysophanol 8-(6-galloylglucoside) and kaempferol 7-(6’’-galloylglucoside) bound efficiently to RdRp, while chrysophanol 8-(6galloylglucoside), 3,4,5-tri-O-galloylquinic acid and mulberrofuran G interacted strongly with 3CLpro, and withanolide A, isocodonocarpine and calonysterone bound tightly to PLpro. These potential drug candidates will be subjected to further in vitro and in vivo studies and may assist the development of effective anti-COVID-19 drugs.

scholarly journals Systematic Analysis of Monoterpenes: Advances and Challenges in the Treatment of Peptic Ulcer Diseases

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Lucena Périco ◽  
Maycon Tavares Emílio-Silva ◽  
Rie Ohara ◽  
Vinícius Peixoto Rodrigues ◽  
Gabriela Bueno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Peptic Ulcer ◽  
Complex Disease ◽  
Pharmacological Action ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Ulcer Disease ◽  
H Pylori

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a multifactorial and complex disease caused by an imbalance of protective and aggressive factors (endogenous and exogenous). Despite advances in recent years, it is still responsible for substantial mortality and triggering clinical problems. Over the last decades, the understanding of PUD has changed a lot with the discovery of Helicobacter pylori infection. However, this disease continues to be a challenge due to side-effects, incidence of relapse from use of various anti-ulcer medicines, and the rapid appearance of antimicrobial resistance with current H. pylori therapies. Consequently, there is the need to identify more effective and safe anti-ulcer agents. The search for new therapies with natural products is a viable alternative and has been encouraged. The literature reports the importance of monoterpenes based on the extensive pharmacological action of this class, including wound healing and anti-ulcerogenic agents. In the present study, 20 monoterpenes with anti-ulcerogenic properties were evaluated by assessing recent in vitro and in vivo studies. Here, we review the anti-ulcer effects of monoterpenes against ulcerogenic factors such as ethanol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and Helicobacter pylori, highlighting challenges in the field.

scholarly journals Therapeutic potential of PACAP for neurodegenerative diseases

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongqiang Yang ◽  
Xin Jiang ◽  
Rui Ji ◽  
Lingbin Meng ◽  
Fuli Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Brain Functions

AbstractPituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is widely expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system. PACAP can initiate multiple signaling pathways through binding with three class B G-protein coupled receptors, PAC1, VPAC1 and VPAC2. Previous studies have revealed numerous biological activities of PACAP in the nervous system. PACAP acts as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator and neurotrophic factor. Recently, its neuroprotective potential has been demonstrated in numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, evidence suggests that PACAP might move across the blood-brain barrier in amounts sufficient to affect the brain functions. Therefore, PACAP has been examined as a potential therapeutic method for neurodegenerative diseases. The present review summarizes the recent findings with special focus on the models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Based on these observations, the administered PACAP inhibits pathological processes in models of AD and PD, and alleviates clinical symptoms. It thus offers a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of AD and PD.

scholarly journals The importance of Bordetella pertussis strains which do not produce virulence factors in the epidemiology of pertussis

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Polak ◽  
Anna Lutyńska
Keyword(s):  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Colonization Factor ◽  
Adaptive Mechanisms ◽  
Single Clone ◽  
The Impact

Bordetella pertussis strains, which have lost the ability to produce antigens, such as pertactin - Prn, pertussis toxin - Ptx, filamentous haemagglutinin - FHA, fimbriae type 2 and 3 - Fim 2 and 3, tracheal colonization factor - TcfA, have recently been isolated in countries with a high vaccination coverage. The emergence of such isolates might have resulted from B. pertussis natural evolution course or adaptive mechanisms, allowing increased circulation of the pathogen in vaccinated populations. So far, the majority of described mutants were deficient in the Prn production. Prn deficient isolates were found in countries which use acellular pertussis vaccines (aP) in routine immunization programmes. The increase of frequency of Prn¯ strains isolation was correlated with the period of routine vaccination with aP vaccines. In most countries, the spread of these isolates has resulted from independent mutations rather than from the expansion of a single clone. Prn¯ isolates were collected from patients showing typical clinical symptoms of pertussis found for Prn+ strains. Results of in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that Prn¯, Ptx¯ and FHA¯ isolates retain cytotoxic properties, and besides Ptx¯ isolates, were lethal in intranasally infected mice. Further explanation of the impact of antigen deficiencies on virulence and transmission of B. pertussis in the context of the continuous increase of pertussis incidence is necessary to develop a new, optimized strategy of pertussis prevention.

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