scholarly journals Can Medicinal Mushrooms Fight Against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 23-24
Author(s):  
Abdul Kader Mohiuddin

The power of mushrooms as medicine was recognized nearly two thousand years ago. They are nature’s miniature pharmaceutical factories, rich in a vast array of novel constituents and wide open for exploration. Reishi mushroom also called “the mushroom of immortality” yields miraculous health benefits and contains over 400 bioactive compounds, which have a number of medicinal effects.  Medicinal Basidiomycetes mushrooms (including reishi mushroom, almond mushroom, pom-pom mushroom, and maitake mushroom) are usually consumed in China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea as immune response modifiers for prevention of cancer, or as nutritional support during chemotherapy, and for chronic inflammatory conditions such as hepatitis and other diseases. Presently medicinal mushrooms are mainly used as dietary supplements or functional food. Special precautions should be there, like cooking procedure, amount to consume, source of collection, and most importantly hypersensitivity (allergy) of individual person before consumption. Nevertheless, they have the potential to become real drugs from medicinal plants. Also, to explore them as dietary supplements, preclinical and clinical trials, and legal authorization are necessary.  

2007 ◽  
Vol 269 ◽  
pp. 1-3

In a nutshellVitamin B6 levels are lower in inflammatory conditions and levels are linked with immune response, for example in the critically ill, in autoimmune disorders (such as rheumatoid arthritis) and possibly in HIV infection.As yet there have been too few clinical trials to tell whether there are specific indications to give B6 supplements in these conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (27) ◽  
pp. 2909-2918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Giemza-Stokłosa ◽  
Md. Asiful Islam ◽  
Przemysław J. Kotyla

Background:: Ferritin is a molecule that plays many roles being the storage for iron, signalling molecule, and modulator of the immune response. Methods:: Different electronic databases were searched in a non-systematic way to find out the literature of interest. Results:: The level of ferritin rises in many inflammatory conditions including autoimmune disorders. However, in four inflammatory diseases (i.e., adult-onset Still’s diseases, macrophage activation syndrome, catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, and sepsis), high levels of ferritin are observed suggesting it as a remarkable biomarker and pathological involvement in these diseases. Acting as an acute phase reactant, ferritin is also involved in the cytokine-associated modulator of the immune response as well as a regulator of cytokine synthesis and release which are responsible for the inflammatory storm. Conclusion:: This review article presents updated information on the role of ferritin in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with an emphasis on hyperferritinaemic syndrome.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 5493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meunier ◽  
Chea ◽  
Garrido ◽  
Perchet ◽  
Petit ◽  
...  

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are important players of early immune defenses in situations like lymphoid organogenesis or in case of immune response to inflammation, infection and cancer. Th1 and Th2 antagonism is crucial for the regulation of immune responses, however mechanisms are still unclear for ILC functions. ILC2 and NK cells were reported to be both involved in allergic airway diseases and were shown to be able to interplay in the regulation of the immune response. CXCR6 is a common chemokine receptor expressed by all ILC, and its deficiency affects ILC2 and ILC1/NK cell numbers and functions in lungs in both steady-state and inflammatory conditions. We determined that the absence of a specific ILC2 KLRG1+ST2– subset in CXCR6-deficient mice is probably dependent on CXCR6 for its recruitment to the lung under inflammation. We show that despite their decreased numbers, lung CXCR6-deficient ILC2 are even more activated cells producing large amount of type 2 cytokines that could drive eosinophilia. This is strongly associated to the decrease of the lung Th1 response in CXCR6-deficient mice.


Author(s):  
Gabriela Quiroz-Olguín ◽  
Gabriela Gutiérrez-Salmeán ◽  
Juan G Posadas-Calleja ◽  
María F Padilla-Rubio ◽  
Aurora E Serralde-Zúñiga

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra J. Spencer ◽  
Paul F. McKay ◽  
Sandra Belij-Rammerstorfer ◽  
Marta Ulaszewska ◽  
Cameron D. Bissett ◽  
...  

AbstractSeveral vaccines have demonstrated efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 mediated disease, yet there is limited data on the immune response induced by heterologous vaccination regimens using alternate vaccine modalities. Here, we present a detailed description of the immune response, in mice, following vaccination with a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine and an adenoviral vectored vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrate that antibody responses are higher in two-dose heterologous vaccination regimens than single-dose regimens. Neutralising titres after heterologous prime-boost were at least comparable or higher than the titres measured after homologous prime boost vaccination with viral vectors. Importantly, the cellular immune response after a heterologous regimen is dominated by cytotoxic T cells and Th1+ CD4 T cells, which is superior to the response induced in homologous vaccination regimens in mice. These results underpin the need for clinical trials to investigate the immunogenicity of heterologous regimens with alternate vaccine technologies.


Drug Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashif Iqubal ◽  
Farazul Hoda ◽  
Abul Kalam Najmi ◽  
Syed Ehtaishamul Haque

AbstractCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged from Wuhan, has now become pandemic and the mortality rate is growing exponentially. Clinical complication and fatality rate is much higher for patients having co-morbid issues. Compromised immune response and hyper inflammation is hall mark of pathogenesis and major cause of mortality. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or cytokine storm is a term used to affiliate the situation of hyper inflammation and therefore use of anti-cytokine and anti-inflammatory drugs is used to take care of this situation. Looking into the clinical benefit of these anti-inflammatory drugs, many of them enter into clinical trials. However, understanding the immunopathology of COVID-19 is important otherwise, indiscriminate use of these drugs could be fetal as there exists a very fine line of difference between viral clearing cytokines and inflammatory cytokines. If any drug suppresses the viral clearing cytokines, it will worsen the situation and hence, the use of these drugs must be based on the clinical condition, viral load, co-existing disease condition and severity of the infection.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 2116
Author(s):  
Andrei V. Tarasov ◽  
Rofail S. Rakhmanov ◽  
Elena S. Bogomolova ◽  
Ludmila A. Perminova ◽  
Zhanna L. Malakhova

The Kaliningrad region is known for its specific climate, which can negatively affect the adaptive potential of the body. This manifests in an increased incidence of respiratory diseases and skin conditions. To prevent high morbidity, a plant protein product was included in the diet of first-year university students. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of this food intervention in preventing the most common diseases among Kaliningrad students. Two groups of university students took part in the food trial. In the control group, catabolic processes prevailed in nutrient metabolism. Disadaptation manifested itself in the metabolism of proteins, vitamins, minerals, hematopoiesis and humoral immunity. Inflammation was indicated by α1- and α2-globulins, a weak immune response, and IgM and IgG. High oxidative stress and low antioxidative ability of blood serum were observed. The plant-based protein product (FP) helped preserve testosterone level and prevent an increase in catabolic reactions. Moreover, it had a positive effect on both red blood cell hematopoiesis (a smaller increase in the average volume of erythrocytes, the same average concentration and content of hemoglobin, an increased relative red cell distribution width (RDW) and white blood cell hematopoiesis (a beneficial effect for the immune system: lymphocytes, the relative content of neutrophils, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils). The stimulation of humoral immunity was evidenced by beta- and gamma-globulins, an active immune response, the level of IgM and IgG, antioxidant protection, reduction of peroxides and an increase in antioxidant activity of blood serum. The 34-week observation showed a 1.7-fold decrease in the incidence of respiratory illnesses and a 5.7-fold decrease in skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases. Acute respiratory infections were reduced 1.8-fold. There were no cases of community-acquired pneumonia in the treatment group, compared with 55.1‰ in the control group. The incidence of respiratory diseases was 3.3–10.6 times lower in the treatment group than in the control group in weeks 6–19. The findings testify to the prophylactic effect of functional food during social adaptation and acclimatization of students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2645
Author(s):  
Dinh Nam Tran ◽  
Seon Myeong Go ◽  
Seon-Mi Park ◽  
Eui-Man Jung ◽  
Eui-Bae Jeung

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) comprises a range of chronic inflammatory conditions of the intestinal tract. The incidence and prevalence of IBDs are increasing worldwide, but the precise etiology of these diseases is not completely understood. Calcium signaling plays a regulatory role in cellular proliferation. Nckx3, a potassium-dependent Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, is not only expressed in the brain but also in the aortic, uterine, and intestinal tissues, which contain abundant smooth muscle cells. This study investigated the role of Nckx3 in intestinal inflammation. Microarray analyses revealed the upregulation of the innate immune response-associated genes in the duodenum of Nckx3 knockout (KO) mice. The Nckx3 KO mice also showed an increase in IBD- and tumorigenesis-related genes. Using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced experimental colitis mice models, the Nckx3 KO mice showed severe colitis. Furthermore, the pathways involving p53 and NF-κB signaling were significantly upregulated by the absence of Nckx3. Overall, Nckx3 plays a critical role in the innate immune and immune response and may be central to the pathogenesis of IBD.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Roxanne Wouters ◽  
Sien Bevers ◽  
Matteo Riva ◽  
Frederik De Smet ◽  
An Coosemans

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive intrinsic brain tumor in adults. Despite maximal therapy consisting of surgery and radio/chemotherapy, GBM remains largely incurable with a median survival of less than 15 months. GBM has a strong immunosuppressive nature with a multitude of tumor and microenvironment (TME) derived factors that prohibit an effective immune response. To date, all clinical trials failed to provide lasting clinical efficacy, despite the relatively high success rates of preclinical studies to show effectivity of immunotherapy. Various factors may explain this discrepancy, including the inability of a single mouse model to fully recapitulate the complexity and heterogeneity of GBM. It is therefore critical to understand the features and limitations of each model, which should probably be combined to grab the full spectrum of the disease. In this review, we summarize the available knowledge concerning immune composition, stem cell characteristics and response to standard-of-care and immunotherapeutics for the most commonly available immunocompetent mouse models of GBM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Henrique Pereira Damasceno ◽  
Arthur Aguiar Amaral ◽  
Cecília Andrade Silva ◽  
Ana Cristina Simões e Silva

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic demanded a global effort towards quickly developing safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Objective: This review aimed to discuss the main vaccines available, their mechanisms of action, results of clinical trials and epidemiological behavior. The implications of viral variants were also debated. Methods: A non-systematic literature review was performed between February and March 2021 by searching the Pubmed, Scopus, and SciELO databases, using different combinations of the following terms: "vaccines", "clinical trials" , "SARS-CoV-2", "Coronavirus", "COVID-19", "mechanisms of action". Data regarding clinical trials of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and epidemiological information were also searched. Results: The mechanisms of action included vector-virus, mRNA and inactivated virus vaccines. The vaccines showed positive results in phases 2/3 clinical trials. The efficacy of the mRNA 1273 and of mRNA BNT 162b2 vaccines were 94.1% and 95%, respectively. The effectiveness of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine varied according to the scheme, with an overall value of 70.4%. The Gam-COVID-Vac vaccine had an efficacy of 91.6%. Regarding the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine, 99% or more of seroconversion was observed in all subgroups 29 days after vaccination. The CoronaVac vaccine induced an immune response in 92% of the volunteers receiving 3ug and in 98% with 6ug, in comparison to 3% in the placebo group. Conclusion: Global efforts have resulted in vaccines available in record time, with good safety and immunogenicity profile. However, only long-term studies can provide more information on duration of immunity and the need for additional doses.


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