Treatment and Prevention of Chikungunya Fever: Current Status and Prospective

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.5772/intechopen.98523 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Merhawi Debesai Oqbazgi

Keyword(s):

Chikungunya Virus ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Single Agent ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Tropical Disease ◽

Current Status ◽

High Grade Fever ◽

Chikungunya Fever ◽

Drug Candidates ◽

The Moment

Chikungunya fever is a vector borne tropical disease that was first described in an outbreak in Tanzania. The disease is caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alpha virus belonging to the family Togaviridae and which is transmitted from one person to another via the bite of mosquitoes. Active disease is characterized by high grade fever, pain and joint symptoms. Although debilitating at times, the disease seldom progresses to result in a serious outcome like death. There are no specific treatments for Chikungunya virus at the moment. Clinical case management is highly dependent on providing palliative care which in turn is expected to alleviate symptoms and accelerate recovery from the infection. An important element in the control of outbreaks of CHIKV infection is prevention. Preventive strategies involve initiatives like vector control, immunizations and extra care to patients with the infection. There have been several tens of researches focusing on the introduction of newer drugs and vaccines against Chikungunya. That being said, so far, no single agent has completed the entire drug or vaccine development process. Chikungunya fever is a neglected tropical disease. Although it has no specific treatment till date, the number of vaccine and drug candidates under study provides promising insights on the prospects on chikungunya treatment.

Download Full-text

Current Status of Treatment Options, Clinical Trials, and Vaccine Development for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology ◽

10.22207/jpam.14.spl1.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (suppl 1) ◽

pp. 733-740

Author(s):

Ran Jing ◽

Rama Rao Vunnam ◽

Yuhong Yang ◽

Adam Karevoll ◽

Srinivas Rao Vunnam

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Supportive Care ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Early Stage ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

World Health ◽

Current Status ◽

Respiratory Syndrome Virus ◽

Wide Range

The severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019 causes the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), which presents with a wide range of clinical symptoms from mild or moderate to severe and critical illnesses. With the continuing transmission of the virus worldwide and the rapidly evolving situation globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in March. Currently, there is no proven specific treatment for this potentially deadly disease beyond supportive care. However, a massive effort has been put globally into the investigation of medications and other interventional measures to fight COVID-19. Convalescent plasma therapy from recovered patients has recently drawn considerable interest. Several alternative medical treatments, although evidence of their efficacy still lacking, have also gained popularity, especially in countries with such traditions such as India and China. Rapid repurposing of drugs for COVID-19 has revealed a few promising candidate antiviral agents, but further research, especially high quality randomized controlled trials, will be needed to prove their efficacy and safety in the clinical use to treat COVID-19. Vaccine development has been the imperative task in the battle against SARS-CoV-2. While clinical trials have been launched for several candidate vaccines, research on COVID-19 vaccines is still at an early stage. So far, optimized supportive care remains the best practice against COVID-19.

Download Full-text

Current Status in the Design and Development of Agonists and Antagonists of Adenosine A3 Receptor as Potential Therapeutic Agents

Current Pharmaceutical Design ◽

10.2174/1381612825666190716114056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (25) ◽

pp. 2772-2787 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Raghu P. Mailavaram ◽

Omar H.A. Al-Attraqchi ◽

Supratik Kar ◽

Shinjita Ghosh

Keyword(s):

Drug Target ◽

Therapeutic Agents ◽

G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽

Current Status ◽

Renal Diseases ◽

Adenosine A3 Receptor ◽

Drug Candidates ◽

Novel Drugs ◽

The Family ◽

G Protein Coupled

Adenosine receptors (ARs) belongs to the family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) that are responsible for the modulation of a wide variety of physiological functions. The ARs are also implicated in many diseases such as cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular and renal diseases. The adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR) has emerged as a potential drug target for the progress of new and effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of various pathological conditions. This receptor’s involvement in many diseases and its validity as a target has been established by many studies. Both agonists and antagonists of A3AR have been extensively investigated in the last decade with the goal of developing novel drugs for treating diseases related to immune disorders, inflammation, cancer, and others. In this review, we shall focus on the medicinal chemistry of A3AR ligands, exploring the diverse chemical classes that have been projected as future leading drug candidates. Also, the recent advances in the therapeuetic applications of A3AR ligands are highlighted.

Download Full-text

Shigella Vaccine Development: Prospective Animal Models and Current Status

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology ◽

10.2174/1389201014666131226123900 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 903-912 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Yeon-Jeong Kim ◽

Sang-Gu Yeo ◽

Jae-Hak Park ◽

Hyun-Jeong Ko

Keyword(s):

Animal Models ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Current Status

Download Full-text

Insights into Antibody-Mediated Alphavirus Immunity and Vaccine Development Landscape

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9050899 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 899

Author(s):

Anthony Torres-Ruesta ◽

Rhonda Sin-Ling Chee ◽

Lisa F.P. Ng

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Tests ◽

Inflammatory Arthritis ◽

Chikungunya Virus ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Antibody Responses ◽

Chikv Infection ◽

Wide Range ◽

Susceptible Populations ◽

Humoral Responses

Alphaviruses are mosquito-borne pathogens distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate areas causing a wide range of symptoms ranging from inflammatory arthritis-like manifestations to the induction of encephalitis in humans. Historically, large outbreaks in susceptible populations have been recorded followed by the development of protective long-lasting antibody responses suggesting a potential advantageous role for a vaccine. Although the current understanding of alphavirus antibody-mediated immunity has been mainly gathered in natural and experimental settings of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection, little is known about the humoral responses triggered by other emerging alphaviruses. This knowledge is needed to improve serology-based diagnostic tests and the development of highly effective cross-protective vaccines. Here, we review the role of antibody-mediated immunity upon arthritogenic and neurotropic alphavirus infections, and the current research efforts for the development of vaccines as a tool to control future alphavirus outbreaks.

Download Full-text

Leishmaniasis: Current Status of Vaccine Development

Clinical Microbiology Reviews ◽

10.1128/cmr.14.2.229-243.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 229-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 326

Author(s):

Emanuela Handman

Keyword(s):

Dna Sequences ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Development Program ◽

Skin Lesions ◽

Mononuclear Phagocytes ◽

Control Measures ◽

Host Susceptibility ◽

Current Status ◽

Dna Encoding ◽

And Control

SUMMARY Leishmaniae are obligatory intracellular protozoa in mononuclear phagocytes. They cause a spectrum of diseases, ranging in severity from spontaneously healing skin lesions to fatal visceral disease. Worldwide, there are 2 million new cases each year and 1/10 of the world's population is at risk of infection. To date, there are no vaccines against leishmaniasis and control measures rely on chemotherapy to alleviate disease and on vector control to reduce transmission. However, a major vaccine development program aimed initially at cutaneous leishmaniasis is under way. Studies in animal models and humans are evaluating the potential of genetically modified live attenuated vaccines, as well as a variety of recombinant antigens or the DNA encoding them. The program also focuses on new adjuvants, including cytokines, and delivery systems to target the T helper type 1 immune responses required for the elimination of this intracellular organism. The availability, in the near future, of the DNA sequences of the human and Leishmania genomes will extend the vaccine program. New vaccine candidates such as parasite virulence factors will be identified. Host susceptibility genes will be mapped to allow the vaccine to be targeted to the population most in need of protection.

Download Full-text

GENETIC INVOLVEMENT OF INTERLEUKIN 4 FOR ASTHMA AND IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL PHYTOCHEMICAL SCAFFOLD THROUGH MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES

International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research ◽

10.22159/ijcpr.2018v10i1.24704 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 43 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Sarithamol ◽

Divya V. ◽

Sunitha V. R. ◽

Suchitra Surendran ◽

V. L. Pushpa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Docking ◽

Small Molecules ◽

In Silico ◽

Mutational Analysis ◽

Chromosome Region ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Docking Studies ◽

Interleukin 4 ◽

Receptor Interaction ◽

Drug Candidates

Objective: Interleukin 4, an important cytokine, has the major role in the immunomodulatory responses associated with asthma. The present study focused on the involvement of single nucleotide polymorphism variation (SNP) of interleukin 4 (IL4) in the development of disease, asthma and designing small molecules for the inhibition of IL4 through in silico strategy.Methods: Identification of disease causing SNP will be a wise approach towards the phenotype specific treatment. A human origin deleterious no synonymous SNP of IL4 were found out in the chromosome region 5q31-q33 (rs199929962) (T/C). Proteins of the corresponding nucleotide variation were identified and were subjected to characterization studies for selecting the most appropriate one for further mutational analysis and molecular docking studies.Results: Influence of microbes on SNP variation of IL4 gene leading to asthma was found to be insignificant by metagenomic studies. Gene responsive drugs were identified through environmental factor analysis. The drug candidates including corticosteroids were subjected to protein interaction studies by in silico means. The pharmacophoric feature derived from drug receptor interaction was utilized for virtual screening on a dataset of anti-inflammatory phytomolecules. The scaffolds of ellagic acid and quercetin were identified as potential nonsteroidal entities which can shield the asthmatic activities.Conclusion: Developing small molecules using these scaffolds taking interleukin 4 as a target will be an adequate solution for steroid resistant asthma.

Download Full-text

Treatment of Toxoplasmosis and Neosporosis in Farm Ruminants: State of Knowledge and Future Trends

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026618666181002113617 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 1304-1323 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Roberto Sánchez-Sánchez ◽

Patricia Vázquez ◽

Ignacio Ferre ◽

Luis Miguel Ortega-Mora

Keyword(s):

Vaccine Development ◽

Neospora Caninum ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Additional Treatment ◽

Current Status ◽

Caninum Infection ◽

Zoonotic Parasites ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

Toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are closely related protozoan diseases that lead to important economic impacts in farm ruminants. Toxoplasma gondii infection mainly causes reproductive failure in small ruminants and is a widespread zoonosis, whereas Neospora caninum infection is one of the most important causes of abortion in cattle worldwide. Vaccination has been considered the most economic measure for controlling these diseases. However, despite vaccine development efforts, only a liveattenuated T. gondii vaccine has been licensed for veterinary use, and no promising vaccines against neosporosis have been developed; therefore, vaccine development remains a key goal. Additionally, drug therapy could be a valuable strategy for disease control in farm ruminants, as several drugs that limit T. gondii and N. caninum proliferation and dissemination have been evaluated. This approach may also be relevant to performing an initial drug screening for potential human therapy for zoonotic parasites. Treatments can be applied against infections in adult ruminants to minimize the outcomes of a primo-infection or the reactivation of a chronic infection during gestation or in newborn ruminants to avoid infection chronification. In this review, the current status of drug development against toxoplasmosis and neosporosis in farm ruminants is presented, and in an effort to promote additional treatment options, prospective drugs that have shown efficacy in vitro and in laboratory animal models of toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are examined.

Download Full-text

Overview of Plant-Derived Vaccine Antigens: Dengue Virus

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.18433/j3401k ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 400 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ravindra B Malabadi ◽

Advaita Ganguly ◽

Jaime A Teixeira da Silva ◽

Archana Parashar ◽

Mavanur R Suresh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

Dengue Virus ◽

Neutralizing Antibodies ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Low Cost ◽

Current Status ◽

Human Immune Deficiency Virus ◽

Dengue Vaccine ◽

New Methods ◽

Vaccine Antigens

ABSTRACT - This review highlights the advantages and current status of plant-derived vaccine development with special reference to the dengue virus. There are numerous problems involved in dengue vaccine development, and there is no vaccine against all four dengue serotypes. Dengue vaccine development using traditional approaches has not been satisfactory in terms of inducing neutralizing antibodies. Recently, these issues were addressed by showing a very good response to inducing neutralizing antibodies by plant-derived dengue vaccine antigens. This indicates the feasibility of using plant-derived vaccine antigens as a low-cost method to combat dengue and other infectious diseases. The application of new methods and strategies such as dendritic cell targeting in cancer therapy, severe acute respiratory syndrome, tuberculosis, human immune deficiency virus, and malaria might play an important role. These new methods are more efficient than traditional protocols. It is expected that in the near future, plant-derived vaccine antigens or antibodies will play an important role in the control of human infectious diseases. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see “For Readers”) may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue’s contents page.

Download Full-text