Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Lactose Acetates with Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic, and Antiviral Properties

The task of this study was to perform the "green" synthesis of lactose octaacetate through microwave irradiation and to establish their biological activities. Lactose ester was prepared after microwave-assisted esterification of lactose with acetic anhydride (yield 85-90 %). Lactose octaacetate was characterized by a high degree of acetylation (DS 3.2-3.7). The lactose esters' structure was elucidated by infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Lactose octaacetate showed better antifungal activities than antibacterial activities. It possessed slight to moderate antifungal activities against Aspergillus niger ATCC 1015, Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sp., Fusarium moniliforme ATCC 38932. Lactose acetates demonstrated low cytotoxicity against three cell lines: Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells, human epithelial type 2 (HEp-2), and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. This is the first report for antiviral activity of lactose acetates against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), influenza virus A/Panama/2007/99/H3N2 - (IAV/H3N2), PV-1 and Coxsackievirus B1. It was found that this compound showed activity with SI = 2.4 only against PV-1, but against HSV-1, IAV/H3N2, and Coxsackievirus B1 was inactive. The current study demonstrated the applications of lactose acetates as antimicrobial and antiviral substances in food, pharmaceutical, agricultural and cosmetic preparations.

Comparison of Monoclonal Gammopathies Linked to Poliovirus or Coxsackievirus vs. Other Infectious Pathogens

Chronic stimulation by infectious pathogens or self-antigen glucosylsphingosine (GlcSph) can lead to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and multiple myeloma (MM). Novel assays such as the multiplex infectious antigen microarray (MIAA) and GlcSph assays, permit identification of targets for >60% purified monoclonal immunoglobulins (Igs). Searching for additional targets, we selected 28 purified monoclonal Igs whose antigen was not represented on the MIAA and GlcSph assays; their specificity of recognition was then analyzed using microarrays consisting of 3760 B-cell epitopes from 196 pathogens. The peptide sequences PALTAVETG and PALTAAETG of the VP1 coat proteins of human poliovirus 1/3 and coxsackievirus B1/B3, respectively, were specifically recognized by 6/28 monoclonal Igs. Re-analysis of patient cohorts showed that purified monoclonal Igs from 10/155 MGUS/SM (6.5%) and 3/147 MM (2.0%) bound to the PALTAVETG or PALTAAETG epitopes. Altogether, PALTAV/AETG-initiated MGUS are not rare and few seem to evolve toward myeloma.

Molecular epydemiology of enterovirus infection in the Republic of Belarus in 2016–2017

Enteroviruses are widespread human pathogens characterized by a high level of a genetic diversity. They cause different clinical forms of infection. The aim of the present study was to analyze the molecular epidemiology of enterovirus infection in the application to the structure of its clinical forms in 2016–2017.ECHO viruses predominated among patients with aseptic meningitis and were prevailing group of enteroviruses in 2016 (all ECHO viruses – 58%, including ECHO 9 – 26%, ECHO 6 –14%, ECHO 16 – 10%). In 2017, Coxsackieviruses prevailed (68%), that were including Coxsackievirus B5 (31%), Coxsackievirus B1, Coxsackievirus B4 and Coxsackievirus A6 (9% of each serotype). Coxsackieviruses were detected more frequently in patients with vesicular pharyngitis and unspecified enterovirus infection. The results of the molecular epidemiological analysis indicated that the prevalence of ECHO viruses in 2016 and Coxsackieviruses B in 2017 was due to the emergence of numerous new genovariants of these viruses.