scholarly journals COVID-19 Infection in the Human Reproductive Tract of Men and Nonpregnant Women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrício Morelli ◽  
Lyvia E. de F. Meirelles ◽  
Maria V. F. de Souza ◽  
Natália L. Mari ◽  
Cristiane S. S. Mesquita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Vaginal Secretion ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Human Reproductive ◽  
Means Of Transmission

SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped non-segmented positive-sense RNA virus, classified as a beta coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), reported as a SARS-CoV-2 receptor, is expressed in different human tissues (lung, intestine, and kidney) and in the testis, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. This suggests a potential risk to the human reproductive tract in COVID-19 patients. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in the blood, urine, facial/anal swabs, semen, and vaginal secretion, suggesting other potential means of transmission. However, little has been reported about SARS-CoV-2 infection in the male and nonpregnant female reproductive tracts, which may provide direct evidence on sexual transmission and fertility problems. Therefore, we focused this narrative review mainly on the distribution of ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 positivity in the male and nonpregnant female reproductive tracts, providing an overview of the potential threat of COVID-19 to reproductive health and sexual transmission.

An overview on transmission of diseases in special reference to COVID-19 and potential targets to control this pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 05-14
Author(s):  
Vibha Yadav ◽  
Mrigendra Rajput ◽  
Diwakar R.P ◽  
Rajesh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Rna Virus ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Adaptive Immune Response ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Adaptive Immune ◽  
Host Cell Receptor ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

With its initial outbreak in China, the virus was referred as "coronavirus". WHO has named it "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2). It has been described as the successor to SARS-CoV-1which is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus. The virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact (less than two metres or six feet) through small droplets produced during coughing, sneezing, or talking. Infected people exhale the contaminated droplets which are then inhaled into the lungs, or settle on other non- infected people's faces his/her mucosae (mouth and nose) or conjunctiva (eyes) get exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets to cause new infection. It mainly enters human cells by binding to the receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Research works are in progress to find potential targets to control the pandemic. To control and treat the virus various targets are under study and these targets range from modulating host cell receptor for the virus entry to generate an effective adaptive immune response.

scholarly journals An Overview On Transmission Of Diseases In Special Reference To COVID-19 And Potential Targets To Control This Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Vibha Yadav ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Virus ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Adaptive Immune Response ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Adaptive Immune ◽  
Host Cell Receptor ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Respiratory Droplets

With its initial outbreak in China, the virus was referred as "coronavirus". WHO has named it "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2). It has been described as the successor to SARS-CoV-1 which is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus. The virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact (less than two metres or six feet) through small droplets produced during coughing, sneezing, or talking. Infected people exhale the contaminated droplets which are then inhaled into the lungs, or settle on other non- infected people's faces his/her mucosae (mouth and nose) or conjunctiva (eyes) get exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets to cause new infection. Organism may enter to human cells by binding to the receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Research works are in progress to find potential targets to control the pandemic. To control and treat the virus various targets are under study and these targets range from modulating host cell receptor for the virus entry to generate an effective adaptive immune response.

scholarly journals Modulation of Autophagy by SARS-CoV-2: A Potential Threat for Cardiovascular System

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puneet Kaur Randhawa ◽  
Kaylyn Scanlon ◽  
Jay Rappaport ◽  
Manish K. Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Cardiovascular Complications ◽  
Extracellular Proteases ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Surface Receptors ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Number Of Patients

Recently, we have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of patients suffering from respiratory tract illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 virus is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus with a genome size of ~29.9 kb. It is believed that the viral spike (S) protein attaches to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 cell surface receptors and, eventually, the virus gains access into the host cell with the help of intracellular/extracellular proteases or by the endosomal pathway. Once, the virus enters the host cell, it can either be degraded via autophagy or evade autophagic degradation and replicate using the virus encoded RNA dependent RNA polymerase. The virus is highly contagious and can impair the respiratory system of the host causing dyspnea, cough, fever, and tightness in the chest. This disease is also characterized by an abrupt upsurge in the levels of proinflammatory/inflammatory cytokines and chemotactic factors in a process known as cytokine storm. Certain reports have suggested that COVID-19 infection can aggravate cardiovascular complications, in fact, the individuals with underlying co-morbidities are more prone to the disease. In this review, we shall discuss the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, potential drug candidates, the interaction between virus and autophagy, and the role of coronavirus in exaggerating cardiovascular complications.

scholarly journals Zinc: A Necessary Ion for Mammalian Sperm Fertilization Competency

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 4097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Kerns ◽  
Michal Zigo ◽  
Peter Sutovsky
Keyword(s):  
Male Fertility ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Zinc Supplementation ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Sperm Maturation ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Human Reproductive ◽  
Semen Processing ◽  
New Research ◽  
And Function

The importance of zinc for male fertility only emerged recently, being propelled in part by consumer interest in nutritional supplements containing ionic trace minerals. Here, we review the properties, biological roles and cellular mechanisms that are relevant to zinc function in the male reproductive system, survey available peer-reviewed data on nutritional zinc supplementation for fertility improvement in livestock animals and infertility therapy in men, and discuss the recently discovered signaling pathways involving zinc in sperm maturation and fertilization. Emphasis is on the zinc-interacting sperm proteome and its involvement in the regulation of sperm structure and function, from spermatogenesis and epididymal sperm maturation to sperm interactions with the female reproductive tract, capacitation, fertilization, and embryo development. Merits of dietary zinc supplementation and zinc inclusion into semen processing media are considered with livestock artificial insemination (AI) and human assisted reproductive therapy (ART) in mind. Collectively, the currently available data underline the importance of zinc ions for male fertility, which could be harnessed to improve human reproductive health and reproductive efficiency in agriculturally important livestock species. Further research will advance the field of sperm and fertilization biology, provide new research tools, and ultimately optimize semen processing procedures for human infertility therapy and livestock AI.

scholarly journals Origins and Evolution of the Global RNA Virome

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri I. Wolf ◽  
Darius Kazlauskas ◽  
Jaime Iranzo ◽  
Adriana Lucía-Sanz ◽  
Jens H. Kuhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Phylogenomic Analysis ◽  
Rna Helicases ◽  
Sequence Alignments ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Dsrna Viruses

ABSTRACTViruses with RNA genomes dominate the eukaryotic virome, reaching enormous diversity in animals and plants. The recent advances of metaviromics prompted us to perform a detailed phylogenomic reconstruction of the evolution of the dramatically expanded global RNA virome. The only universal gene among RNA viruses is the gene encoding the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). We developed an iterative computational procedure that alternates the RdRp phylogenetic tree construction with refinement of the underlying multiple-sequence alignments. The resulting tree encompasses 4,617 RNA virus RdRps and consists of 5 major branches; 2 of the branches include positive-sense RNA viruses, 1 is a mix of positive-sense (+) RNA and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses, and 2 consist of dsRNA and negative-sense (−) RNA viruses, respectively. This tree topology implies that dsRNA viruses evolved from +RNA viruses on at least two independent occasions, whereas −RNA viruses evolved from dsRNA viruses. Reconstruction of RNA virus evolution using the RdRp tree as the scaffold suggests that the last common ancestors of the major branches of +RNA viruses encoded only the RdRp and a single jelly-roll capsid protein. Subsequent evolution involved independent capture of additional genes, in particular, those encoding distinct RNA helicases, enabling replication of larger RNA genomes and facilitating virus genome expression and virus-host interactions. Phylogenomic analysis reveals extensive gene module exchange among diverse viruses and horizontal virus transfer between distantly related hosts. Although the network of evolutionary relationships within the RNA virome is bound to further expand, the present results call for a thorough reevaluation of the RNA virus taxonomy.IMPORTANCEThe majority of the diverse viruses infecting eukaryotes have RNA genomes, including numerous human, animal, and plant pathogens. Recent advances of metagenomics have led to the discovery of many new groups of RNA viruses in a wide range of hosts. These findings enable a far more complete reconstruction of the evolution of RNA viruses than was attainable previously. This reconstruction reveals the relationships between different Baltimore classes of viruses and indicates extensive transfer of viruses between distantly related hosts, such as plants and animals. These results call for a major revision of the existing taxonomy of RNA viruses.

scholarly journals Sexual Transmission of XMRV: A Potential Infection Route

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi Sharma ◽  
Kenneth A. Rogers ◽  
Suganthi Suppiah ◽  
Ross J. Molinaro ◽  
Nattawat Onlamoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Chronic Infection ◽  
Protein Production ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Seminal Vesicles ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Route Of Transmission ◽  
Intravenous Inoculation

Although XMRV dissemination in humans is a matter of debate, the prostate of select patients seem to harbor XMRV, which raises questions about its potential route of transmission. We established a model of infection in rhesus macaques inoculated with XMRV. In spite of the intravenous inoculation, all infected macaques exhibited readily detectable XMRV signal in the reproductive tract of all 4 males and 1 female during both acute and chronic infection stages. XMRV showed explosive growth in the acini of prostate during acute but not chronic infection. In seminal vesicles, epididymis, and testes, XMRV protein production was detected throughout infection in interstitial or epithelial cells. In the female monkey, epithelial cells in the cervix and vagina were also positive for XMRV gag. The ready detection of XMRV in the reproductive tract of male and female macaques infected intravenously suggests the potential for sexual transmission for XMRV.

scholarly journals From Mosquito Bites to Sexual Transmission: Evaluating Mouse Models of Zika Virus Infection

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2244
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Balint ◽  
Amelia Montemarano ◽  
Emily Feng ◽  
Ali A. Ashkar
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Models ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Male To Female

Following the recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in Latin America, ZIKV has emerged as a global health threat due to its ability to induce neurological disease in both adults and the developing fetus. ZIKV is largely mosquito-borne and is now endemic in many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America. However, several reports have demonstrated persistent ZIKV infection of the male reproductive tract and evidence of male-to-female sexual transmission of ZIKV. Sexual transmission may broaden the reach of ZIKV infections beyond its current geographical limits, presenting a significant threat worldwide. Several mouse models of ZIKV infection have been developed to investigate ZIKV pathogenesis and develop effective vaccines and therapeutics. However, the majority of these models focus on mosquito-borne infection, while few have considered the impact of sexual transmission on immunity and pathogenesis. This review will examine the advantages and disadvantages of current models of mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted ZIKV and provide recommendations for the effective use of ZIKV mouse models.

scholarly journals Genetic and Epigenetic Variations of SARS-Cov-2 and Host Genes and Their Impact in Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Elayadeth Meethal ◽  
Punnoth Poonkuzhi Naseef ◽  
Mohamed Saheer Kuruniyan ◽  
Mansoor C Abdulla ◽  
Shyju Ollakkod ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Virus ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Genetic Variations ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Novel Variants ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

The global COVID-19 pandemic claiming global spread continues to evolve, now to the verge of a third wave of outbreak possibly caused by the novel variants of concern of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The test positivity rate (TPR) and case fatal-ity rate (CFR) have increased steeply in the second wave of COVID-19 compared to the first. From the example of Kerala, a state in southern India, positivity increased from 1.33% at the peak of wave one in 10th June 2020 to 13.45% during 10th June 2021 in the second wave of pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE-2) is a trans membrane surface protein present on multiple types of cells in the human body to which the viral spike protein attaches. Genetic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 receptor can affect the transmission, clinical manifestations, mortality and the efficacy of drugs and vaccines for COVID-19. Mutations are the primary cause of genetic variations. Given the high TPR and CFR, it is necessary to understand the variations of SARS-CoV-2 and cellular receptors of SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular level. In this review, we summarize the impact of genetic and ep-igenetic variations in determining COVID-19 pathogenesis and disease outcome.

Identification of the interaction between Angiotensin-converting Enzyme Residues and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youness Kadil ◽  
Mohammed Mouhcine ◽  
Imane Rahmoune ◽  
Houda Filali
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme ◽  
Receptor Binding Domain ◽  
Converting Enzyme ◽  
Methodological Study ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Enveloped Virus ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Contact Residues ◽  
Cell Membrane Protein

Introduction: Coronaviruses are an enveloped virus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome. It has been shown that the viral spike S glycoprotein binds to the cell membrane protein angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as an invasive process of the virus. The aim of this research is the application of a computational approach in the identification of the interaction residues ACE2 with severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2. A methodological study to understand the interactions between SARS CoV2 and ACE2, which is essential for the development of a vaccine and an antiviral. Methods: The S protein is cleaved into two subunits, S1 and S2. S1 contains the receptor-binding domain (RBD) which allows the virus to bind directly to the peptidase domain of ACE2. Results: Our results present the overall differences in contact residues between the different chains, and an alignment between the two SARS Viruses, along with a presentation of similarity between them.Then S2 likely plays a role in membrane fusion. Conclusions : The synthesis of our results appears to provide potentially a rational set of objectives that can help in the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Novel positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus related to alphavirus-like viruses from Fusarium graminearum

2019 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-490
Author(s):  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Haotian Zhang ◽  
Dongfang Ma ◽  
Huaigu Chen ◽  
Wei Li
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Positive Sense
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