Coronaviruses - Volume 4, Issue 3, 2023

Background: Two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are currently approved in the United States, and one viral-vector vaccine, J&J/Janssen, is authorized for limited use. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database gathers reports of adverse effects, including anaphylaxis.Objective: In this manuscript, we provide a summary of reported incidence of anaphylaxis rates following administration of the two mRNA and one viral-vector COVID-19 vaccine.Methods: A detailed investigation of the relative risk of anaphylaxis for recipients with or without a prior history of allergy and/or anaphylaxis is also described.Results: Overall reported incidence of anaphylaxis is 4.49 [95% CI: 0.25 128;“ 8.73] cases per million doses administered.Conclusion: The reported risk of anaphylaxis is 1.83 times greater for recipients with prior allergies and no anaphylaxis but 17.70 times greater for recipients with prior allergies and anaphylaxis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of death due to pulmonary diseases and has developed resistance to various antibiotics over time making it extremely difficult to treat and eradicate. For an effective treatment regime, it becomes necessary to understand the factors and mechanisms of resistance to predict the possibility of associated resistance. In the present-day scenario, conditions of Tuberculosis patients have worsened due to COVID-19 with escalated mortality rates. Additionally, COVID-19 has also affected the regime and regular monitoring of patients which is mainly because of the shift in the focus and toxicity of various COVID-19 and Tuberculosis drug combinations.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a driving force for the evaluation of nextgeneration vaccine technology platforms through novel paradigms to accelerate vaccine development and administration. However, vaccine acceptance is influenced by many factors, including social influences and community-based interventions.Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination climate on an academic health professions community of students, faculty, and staff.Methods: An anonymous, 29-item survey was developed with questions pertaining to demographics, COVID-19 infection, vaccine practices and hesitancy. A total of 583 students, faculty, and staff from multiple health professions at a single academic institution completed the survey.Results: A higher number of students agreed that they 128;œfeel socially pressured to get the COVID-19 vaccine128; as compared to faculty/staff (39.3% vs. 18.2%, p<0.001). In addition, a lower number of students agreed that 128;œthe benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks128; compared to faculty/staff (85.9% vs. 92.8%, p=0.039). Moreover, a lower number of students disagreed with the statement 128;œhealthcare workers/students should have the right to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine that is required by their employer/ institution128; compared to faculty/staff (40.2% vs. 68.9%, p<0.001). These were among 11 of the statistically divergent responses that gaged vaccine hesitancy.Conclusion: This study provides insight into the perceptions of vaccines from students, faculty, and staff within an interprofessional healthcare community and highlights the need for vaccine education early in health professions curricula.

Background: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virulent source of COVID-19 disease. As a result of the rapid transmission of the viral agent and deficiency of specific drugs against the virus, a worldwide pandemic ensued with a terrifying death toll. Thus there is tremendous urgency to discover substances for the development of specific COVID-19 drugs. With increasing public interest in natural products, this study aims to discover alkaloid compounds capable of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 with the assistance of bioinformatics.Methods: In this work, 298 alkaloids with reported antiviral properties were identified, and their biological activities were validated with QSAR analysis using the Pass Online server until only 7 alkaloids remained. Molecular docking studies for these 7 alkaloids onto SARS-CoV-2 3CL^pro, a protein involved in viral replication, were carried out with AutoDock Vina, followed by in silico visualization of the proteinalkaloid interaction with Ligplot+ program and prediction of ADME-Tox properties of the alkaloids using Toxtree program and SwissADME online server.Results: Fangchinoline, phenanthroindolizidine, and polyalthenol are predicted to have strong binding affinity with SARS-CoV-2 3CL^pro. Visualization of the molecular interactions between the ligand and protein target, however, showed that homonojirimycin formed the most hydrogen bonds with the protein binding site. Most of the alkaloids have little to no violation of Lipinski's Rule of 5, easy to moderate synthetic accessibility, and good pharmacokinetic properties.Conclusion: Fangchinoline, phenanthroindolizidine, and polyalthenol exhibited high binding affinity values to SARS-CoV-2 3CL^pro, with polyalthenol predicted to possess the strongest binding interactions to the active site of the protein. Polyalthenol and phenanthroindolizidine confer the most versatility in terms of bioavailability, however, supplementary observation of phenanthroindolizidine for the prospect of mutagenicity is required before it can be recommended for further drug development.

Background: The COVID-19 disease, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, has been spreading rapidly over the world since December 2019 and has become a serious threat to human health. According to reports, SARS-CoV-2 infection has an impact on several human tissues, including the kidney, gastrointestinal system, and lungs. The Spike (S) protein from SARS-CoV-2 has been found to primarily bind ACE2. Since the lungs are the organ that COVID-19 is most likely to infect, the comparatively low expression of this recognized receptor suggests that there may be alternative coreceptors or alternative SARS-CoV-2 receptors that cooperate with ACE2. Recently, many candidate receptors of SARS-CoV-2 other than ACE2 were reported to be specifically and highly expressed in SARS-CoV-2 affected tissues. Among these receptors, the binding affinity of CAT and L-SIGN to the S protein has been reported to be higher in one of the recent studies. So, it will be significant to understand the binding interactions between these potential receptors and the RBD region of the S protein.Objective: To perform a computational analysis to check the efficiency of the alternative receptors (CAT and L-SIGN) of the SARS-CoV-2 on its binding to the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of Spike protein (S protein).Methods: In this study, we compared the interaction profile of the RBD of the S protein of SARSCoV- 2 with CAT and L-SIGN receptors.Results: From the molecular dynamics simulation study, the S protein employs special techniques to have stable interactions with the CAT and L-SIGN receptors (ΔGbind = -39.49 kcal/mol and -37.20 kcal/mol, respectively).Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 may result in greater virulence as a result of the S protein-CAT complex's stability and the greater affinity of spike protein for the CAT receptor.

SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic or symptomatic COVID-19 disease. While symptomatic infections are at the centre stage for disease diagnosis and treatment, asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases heighten the challenge of transmission tracking ultimately leading to failure of control interventions. Asymptomatic cases appear due to a variety of host and viral factors and contribute substantially to the total number of infections. Through this article, we have tried to assemble existing information about the role of viral factors and mechanisms involved in the development of asymptomatic COVID-19. The significance of 'PLpro'- a protease of Nidovirales order that removes ubiquitin and ISG15 from host proteins to regulate immune responses against the virus and hence disease presentation has been highlighted. PL-pro dampens inflammatory and antiviral responses, leading to asymptomatic infection. 11083G>T-(L37F) mutation in 128;Nsp6' of SARS-CoV-2 also diminishes the innate immune response leading to asymptomatic infections. It is, therefore, pertinent to understand the role of proteins like PLpro and Nsp6 in SARS-CoV-2 biology for the development of transmission control measures against COVID-19. This review focuses on viral molecular mechanisms that alter disease severity and highlights compounds that work against such regulatory SARS-CoV-2 proteins.

Introduction: Nowadays, the coronavirus disease COVID-19 is a global problem for the population of the whole world which has acquired the character of a pandemic. Under physiological conditions, in a healthy person, erythrocytes make up 96% of all blood cells, leukocytes 3%, and thrombocytes about 1%. In healthy individuals, erythrocytes are mostly shaped like a biconcave disc and do not contain a nucleus. The diameter of the erythrocyte is 8 microns, but the peculiarities of the cell structure and the membrane structure ensure their great ability to deform and pass through capillaries with a narrow lumen of 2-3 microns. Therefore, the study of the morpho-functional state of blood cells, namely erythrocytes, in this category of patients is relevant and deserves further research.The Aim: To figure out the effect of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 on the ultrastructural blood cell changes, in particular erythrocytes, in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and diabetes mellitus type 2.Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with COVID-19 who had an acute myocardial infarction were examined. The comparison group consisted of 10 people with acute myocardial infarction without symptoms of COVID-19. The average age of the patients was 62 ± 5,6 years. The functional state and ultrastructure of blood cells were studied using electron microscopy.Results: In the presence of COVID-19, we detected both calcification and destruction of erythrocytes and platelets. Reticulocytes were detected much more often in these individuals than in the comparison group. In patients with acute myocardial infarction in the presence of type 2 diabetes and COVID-19, a significant number of markedly deformed, hemolyzed erythrocytes or with signs of acanthosis, which stuck together and with other destructively changed blood cells, were found. We also detected «neutrophils extracellular traps» (NETs).Conclusions: Morphological changes of blood cells in COVID-19 varied according to the disease course and severity especially in the background of a weakened immune system in older and elderly people, in the presence of diabetes, excessive body weight, cardiovascular diseases and occupational hazards. Under the influence of COVID-19, blood cells are destroyed by apoptosis and necrosis. Therefore, hypoxia and ischemia of vital organs of the human body occur.

Throughout the cell cycle, the cells are exposed to various endogenous and exogenous factors that could damage the cell at the molecular or extracellular level, leading to its death. Cells can undergo oxidative stress when they are exposed to repeated doses of oxidants produced by metabolism or the result of exposure to toxic chemicals, radiations, nanoparticles, harmful smoke, etc. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are examples of these oxidants, and the body's primary defense, i.e., the antioxidant enzymes and antioxidant molecules, attempt to scavenge them. Repair mechanisms can protect the DNA to some extent even when they are escaped from this defense system. However, damaged cells can also choose to die in different ways. Different types of cell death can be caused by exposure to different types of nanoparticles, nanostructures, toxic molecules, oxidants, and radiation. This mini-review will discuss reported types of cell death in the literature such as necrosis, necroptosis, secondary necrosis, apoptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, oncosis, and other eight types of cell death. The different pathways of these types of cell deaths are also described in detail mentioning the differences of enzymes involved in these pathways.