scholarly journals Important Roles of Oligo- and Polysaccharides against SARS-CoV-2: Recent Advances

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3512
Author(s):  
Siavash Iravani ◽  
Rajender S. Varma
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Immune Regulation ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Vaccine Adjuvants ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Plant Polysaccharides ◽  
The World ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Low Toxicity

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-initiated outbreak of COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, posing a huge threat to public health. Natural oligo- and polysaccharides with low toxicity, good sustainability, high biocompatibility, respectable safety, immune regulation, and antiviral activity can be employed as promising candidates for the prevention and inhibition of viral infections, especially COVID-19. Glycosaminoglycans, marine polysaccharides, terrestrial plant polysaccharides, and some others have exhibited potential antiviral activity against pathogenic viruses, in the format of polysaccharide-centered vaccine adjuvants, nano-based structures, drug conveyance platforms, etc. In this review, significant recent advancements pertaining to the antiviral applications of oligo- and polysaccharides against SARS-CoV-2 are highlighted, including important challenges and future perspectives.

scholarly journals Targeting Viral Surface Proteins through Structure-Based Design

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1320
Author(s):  
Yogesh B Narkhede ◽  
Karen J Gonzalez ◽  
Eva-Maria Strauch
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Respiratory Viruses ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Viral Fusion ◽  
Health It ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Viral Surface

The emergence of novel viral infections of zoonotic origin and mutations of existing human pathogenic viruses represent a serious concern for public health. It warrants the establishment of better interventions and protective therapies to combat the virus and prevent its spread. Surface glycoproteins catalyzing the fusion of viral particles and host cells have proven to be an excellent target for antivirals as well as vaccines. This review focuses on recent advances for computational structure-based design of antivirals and vaccines targeting viral fusion machinery to control seasonal and emerging respiratory viruses.

scholarly journals Immunochromatographic Technique for Seropositivity and PCR Based Molecular Diagnosis for Hepatis B and C Virus in a General Population of Mansehra Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Major Public Health Issue ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
The World ◽  
Awareness Programs ◽  
Pcr Method ◽  
Day By Day

Hepatitis B and C infections are known to be the major public health issue around the world. Our focus is to investigate the predominance of HBV and HCV infections in the general population of district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Blood samples were taken from 652 individuals and were shifted to Alkhedmat laboratory Mansehra and Department of Microbiology Hazara University Mansehra. Serum were isolated from blood samples and screen it by ICT device Kit (Accurate Diagnostics, Houston, Texas, USA). The ICT positive samples were then refined by PCR method. Total 652 individuals [males (368), females (284)] were screened for HBV and HCV infections in which total 37 (5.67%) [males (6.52%) and females (4.57%)] were found positive for HBsAg and 42 (6.44%) [males (7.33%) and females (5.28%)] were found positive for Anti HCV respectively. The ratio of these viral infections is more predominant as compare to other viral infections in Mansehra, Pakistan. The rate of HBV and HCV prevalence is increasing day by day in these areas. Communities with more than 5% HBV and HCV disease, mass vaccination and awareness programs should be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

scholarly journals Nafamostat-interferon-alpha combination suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in vivo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Ianevski ◽  
Rouan Yo ◽  
Hilde Lysvand ◽  
Gunnveig Grodeland ◽  
Nicolas Legrand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Patient Outcome ◽  
Cell Culture ◽  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Low Doses ◽  
Important Mediator ◽  
The World

SARS-CoV-2 and its vaccine/immune-escaping variants continue to pose a serious threat to public health due to a paucity of effective, rapidly deployable, and widely available treatments. Here we address these challenges by combining Pegasys (IFNa) and nafamostat to effectively suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection in cell culture and hamsters. Our results indicate that Serpin E1 is an important mediator of the antiviral activity of IFNa and that both Serpin E1 and camostat can target the same cellular factor TMPRSS2, which plays a critical role in viral replication. The low doses of the drugs in combination may have several clinical advantages, including fewer adverse events and improved patient outcome. Thus, our study may provide a proactive solution for the ongoing pandemic and potential future coronavirus outbreaks, which is still urgently required in many parts of the world.

scholarly journals Metavirome Survey of Eight Ray-Finned Fishes Revealed Domination of Giant Viral Members of Pandoravirus and Megaviricetes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Sana Askari ◽  
Alireza Mohebbi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Human Diseases ◽  
Dna Viruses ◽  
The World

Abstract Background Fishes are an essential source of food all around the world. The bulk of the microbial diversity in marine ecosystems is uncharacterized, with viruses accounting for most of the remaining diversity. This may be a major danger to public health, therefore knowing the variety of viruses in the marine ecosystem is critical. The goal was to assess the virome of ray-finned fishes in terms of variety and relation to human diseases. Results It was revealed that the viral kingdom was allocated 2,228,888 sequence reads. The pooled genome assay of the ray-finned fishes indicated a significant abundance of viruses in three clades of the genus Pandoravirus (31%), the order of Herepesvirales (23%), and the kingdom of Bamfordvirae (10%). Furthermore, 432281/2031445 reads (21%) of mapped reads were unassigned viruses. According to the GiantVirusFinder findings, 17931 hits (4.15$) were mapped to the genomes of known giantviruses. Conclusion Humans eat seafood regularly as one of their primary diets. Ray-finned fishes have a long evolutionary history and, as demonstrated here, are hosts to a variety of large DNA viruses. Fish must be screened for viral infections that are linked to human illnesses.

scholarly journals Antiviral Activity of Jamaican Medicinal Plants and Isolated Bioactive Compounds

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 607
Author(s):  
Henry Lowe ◽  
Blair Steele ◽  
Joseph Bryant ◽  
Emadelden Fouad ◽  
Ngeh Toyang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Hepatitis Virus ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Population ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
The World

Plants have had historical significance in medicine since the beginning of civilization. The oldest medical pharmacopeias of the African, Arabian, and Asian countries solely utilize plants and herbs to treat pain, oral diseases, skin diseases, microbial infections, multiple types of cancers, reproductive disorders among a myriad of other ailments. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 65% of the world population solely utilize botanical preparations as medicine. Due to the abundance of plants, plant-derived medicines are more readily accessible, affordable, convenient, and have safer side-effect profiles than synthetic drugs. Plant-based decoctions have been a significant part of Jamaican traditional folklore medicine. Jamaica is of particular interest because it has approximately 52% of the established medicinal plants that exist on earth. This makes the island particularly welcoming for rigorous scientific research on the medicinal value of plants and the development of phytomedicine thereof. Viral infections caused by the human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2), hepatitis virus B and C, influenza A virus, and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) present a significant global burden. This is a review of some important Jamaican medicinal plants, with particular reference to their antiviral activity.

Use of Nanoparticles to Combat COVID-19

2022 ◽  
pp. 412-440
Author(s):  
Ashish Kumar ◽  
Abhinay Thakur
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ◽  
Respiratory Distress Syndrome ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the unexpected coronavirus pneumonia pandemic a public health crisis of global significance. COVID-19 in its most severe form can cause coagulation issues and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Due to viral modifications and the advent of new viral strains, the efficiency of traditional treatments for viral infections is rapidly fading. To overcome the limitations and to improve anti-viral treatments, integrated scientific research toward nanotechnology treatment investigations are anticipated for probable use in the prevention and/or treatment of viral infections. This chapter focuses on nano-based diagnostics, accompanied by a study of nano-based therapeutics and treatments that have been shown to be effective against viruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, the authors anticipate that nanotechnology-based approaches mentioned throughout this chapter will aid researchers in developing new COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis, and treatment methods.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic: Questioning Conspiracy Theories, Beliefs or Claims that Have Potential Negative Impact on Public Health Interventions and Proposal for Integrated Communication and Information Dissemination Strategies (ICIDS)

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Aceme Nyika ◽  
Geraldine Taponeswa Nyika ◽  
Jeffrey Tonderai Nyika ◽  
Jeremy Tashinga Nyika ◽  
Trenah Nyika
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The World ◽  
Integrated Communication

The COVID-19 outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 spread across the world causing a pandemic that infected and killed thousands of people globally. Countries made frantic efforts to put in place measures to curb the spread of the viral infections. The measures included social distancing, regular washing of hands with soap, applying sanitizers to hands and surfaces, use of personal protective equipment, screening, testing, isolation of suspected cases, quarantine of cases, lockdowns, treatment of cases and controlled burial of deceased cases.Almost all affected countries experienced four main hindrances to their efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic; (i) challenges in implementing preventative measures effectively, (ii) health care delivery systems that could not cope with the pandemic, (iii) limited resources, and (iv) negative socio-economic impact caused by the pandemic. One of the challenges that hindered efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic or to manage it are various conspiracy theories, beliefs, and or unproven claims, some of which are contradictory, that were circulated across the world.2This article gives an overview of the covid-19 pandemic, some conspiracy theories, beliefs and claims that were circulated as unofficial information, and questions the unofficial information. The article ends with an outline of some potential negative impact of conspiracy theories, beliefs and claims on public health interventions aimed at controlling the pandemic. In order to counter disinformation and misinformation, the article recommends the establishment of well-coordinated Integrated Communication and Information Dissemination Strategies (ICIDS) at global, continental, regional and national levels.

scholarly journals Comparative Study of Pathogenic Viruses Carried on Pairs of Species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Zhaoyu Pan ◽  
Jeffrey Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
The World ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Health Event ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Similarity Relationships ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The new coronavirus was checked on December 12, 2019, and spread rapidly over time. It has become a public health event spreading around the world. Until this time, the source of the virus remains controversial. In this paper, a series of SARS-CoV-2 genomes were collected using the A1 module of the MAS for visualization. Pairs of genomes are compared under similarity relationships between SARS-CoV-2 and other deadly viruses carried by different species. Through the proposed method of variant construction, it provides important information to understand similarity properties among genomes. The comparison mechanism provides an efficient and fast similarity mode to compare with a whole genome at multiple levels of hierarchical measurements to provide variation information on internal correlation to a certain extent. Sample results are intuitively expressed through a list of 1D visual line charts for various distributions.

scholarly journals Comparative Study of Pathogenic Viruses Carried on Pairs of Species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Zhaoyu Pan ◽  
Jeffrey Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
The World ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Health Event ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Similarity Relationships ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The new coronavirus was checked on December 12, 2019, and spread rapidly over time. It has become a public health event spreading around the world. Until this time, the source of the virus remains controversial. In this paper, a series of SARS-CoV-2 genomes were collected using the A1 module of the MAS for visualization. Pairs of genomes are compared under similarity relationships between SARS-CoV-2 and other deadly viruses carried by different species. Through the proposed method of variant construction, it provides important information to understand similarity properties among genomes. The comparison mechanism provides an efficient and fast similarity mode to compare with a whole genome at multiple levels of hierarchical measurements to provide variation information on internal correlation to a certain extent. Sample results are intuitively expressed through a list of 1D visual line charts for various distributions.

scholarly journals Antiviral Strategies Using Natural Source-Derived Sulfated Polysaccharides in the Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Major Human Pathogenic Viruses

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Bimalendu Ray ◽  
Imran Ali ◽  
Subrata Jana ◽  
Shuvam Mukherjee ◽  
Saikat Pal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Antiviral Agents ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Sulfated Polysaccharides ◽  
Susceptible Host ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses

Only a mere fraction of the huge variety of human pathogenic viruses can be targeted by the currently available spectrum of antiviral drugs. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has highlighted the urgent need for molecules that can be deployed quickly to treat novel, developing or re-emerging viral infections. Sulfated polysaccharides are found on the surfaces of both the susceptible host cells and the majority of human viruses, and thus can play an important role during viral infection. Such polysaccharides widely occurring in natural sources, specifically those converted into sulfated varieties, have already proved to possess a high level and sometimes also broad-spectrum antiviral activity. This antiviral potency can be determined through multifold molecular pathways, which in many cases have low profiles of cytotoxicity. Consequently, several new polysaccharide-derived drugs are currently being investigated in clinical settings. We reviewed the present status of research on sulfated polysaccharide-based antiviral agents, their structural characteristics, structure–activity relationships, and the potential of clinical application. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of sulfated polysaccharides involved in viral infection or in antiviral activity, respectively, are discussed, together with a focus on the emerging methodology contributing to polysaccharide-based drug development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document