ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) provokes the host immune responses and induces severe respiratory syndrome by overreaction of immune cells. IL-1beta is a pro-inflammatory cytokine highly associated with the related inflammation and cytokine storm, and several IL-1beta antagonists are being used to treat cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Accordingly, some studies and clinical trials are investigating the effects of IL-1beta antagonists for controlling Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated CRS. Here, we will review any interaction and association between IL-1beta and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
ABSTRACT
At the end of 2020, variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared as a great risk to public's health and therefore, in order to prioritize global monitoring and research, they were placed in the category of variants of interest (VOIs), variants of concern (VOCs) and under monitoring variants (VUMs). As of April 2022, omicron (B.1.1.529) sub-variants of SARS-CoV-2, including BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5, are considered variants of concern with increased virulence and transmissibility. The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is emerging in communities where people have already been infected with earlier variants and are now vaccinated, or people who have received two or three doses of the coronavirus vaccination. More than 130 countries worldwide have implemented booster programs to combat omicron. Despite preliminary findings that suggest booster doses may improve omicron protection, more research is needed to prove this. In the case of the COVID-19, it was recommended that at least 2 injections of the vaccine be given, and after 6 months we saw a decline in immunity. Taken together, the studies suggest that the BQ and XBB subtypes pose serious threats to current vaccines, inactivate all neutralizing antibodies, and may have spread in the population due to their evolution in evading antibodies. Though people still need to take this issue seriously and protect themselves. © 2023, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research. All rights reserved.
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Objectives: The induction of an intense immune response and cytokine storm is proposed to be central in the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The study evaluated serum cytokine/chemokine profiles, and clinical and paraclinical data of COVID-19 deceased and recovered patients in Iran. Methods: The severity of disease, clinical data, and routine laboratory and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine responses were retrospectively explored in 60 in-hospital patients in northern Iran. Characteristics of those who deceased (n = 30) were compared to recovered (n = 30), and associations with serum levels of potential disease regulating pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators were studied. Results: The serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17, IP-10, MIP1-α, MCP1, RANTES, and TNF-α were upregulated in all COVID-19 patients when compared to healthy and gender-matched individuals (n = 30). Although with no significant difference between deceased and recovered cases, the serum levels of all cytokines/chemokines tended to be higher in the severely diseased non-surviving patients. Association analyses revealed that all cytokine/chemokine levels (except IL-10) significantly affect the disease outcome. Conclusion: This study provides more evidence for the association of cytokine/chemokine levels with the clinical course and outcome of COVID-19. More studies are needed to consider this measurement as an indicator of disease stage and strategy for treatment. © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) provokes the host immune responses and induces severe respiratory syndrome by overreaction of immune cells. IL-1 beta is a proinflammatory cytokine highly associated with the related inflammation and cytokine storm, and several IL-1 beta antagonists are being used to treat cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Accordingly, some studies and clinical trials are investigating the effects of IL-1 beta antagonists for controlling Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated CRS. Here, we will review any interaction and association between IL-1 beta and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
ABSTRACT
Background: Molecular analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome is important to predict viral pathogenicity. In addition to transmission, replication is a key factor in pathogenicity of the virus. Notably, mutations in non-structural proteins (NSP3 and NSP12) can affect host immune response and viral replication. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate different mutations of SARS-CoV-2 NSP3, and NSP12 during different waves of COVID-19 infection. Methods: We recruited 57 NGS sequences including 8 NGS sequences from Golestan SARS-CoV-2 RNA samples, obtained as part of clinical testing in different referral centers of Iran. After obtaining sequences from the global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID), and evaluating and processing data, all sequences were aligned to the Wuhan variant genome (NC_045512.2) using MEGA6. The HDOCK server was used for molecular docking. Results: In NSP3, mutations in positions (nts 315, 545, 2666, 3264) were more frequent and among them mutation in positions including nt 545 (aa182) and nt 2666 (aa889) were associated with an increase in codon usage. In the term of NSP12, mutations in positions such as nts 406 (aa137), 965 (aa323), 1233, 1653, 1836, 2733 were more frequent. The molecular docking results showed more affinity in some variants of NSP3 and NSP12 as well. Conclusion: This study has assessed mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3, and NSP12 which are viral protease, and viral polymerase (RdRp). The mutations reported in this study may help this virus to replicate faster and evade the pharmaceutical agents which target viral polymerase activity and be very effective in viral pathogenesis. In addition, this study highlights the importance of ongoing genomic variation studies to be performed on SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Objectives: The development of effective targeted therapy and drug-design approaches against the SARS-CoV-2 is a universal health priority. Therefore, it is important to assess possible therapeutic strategies against SARS-CoV-2 via its most interaction targets. The present study aimed to perform a systematic review on clinical and experimental investigations regarding SARS-COV-2 interaction targets for human cell entry. Methods: A systematic search using relevant MeSH terms and keywords was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science (ISI) databases up to July 2021. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of the studies, extracted the data, and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. Additionally, a narrative synthesis was done as a qualitative method for data gathering and synthesis of each outcome measure. Results: A total of 5610 studies were identified, and 128 articles were included in the systematic review. Based on the results, spike antigen was the only interaction protein from SARS-CoV-2. However, the interaction proteins from humans varied including different spike receptors and several cleavage enzymes. The most common interactions of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 for cell entry were ACE2 (entry receptor) and TMPRSS2 (for spike priming). A lot of published studies have mainly focused on the ACE2 receptor followed by the TMPRSS family and furin. Based on the results, ACE2 polymorphisms as well as spike RBD mutations affected the SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity. Conclusion: The included studies shed more light on SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry mechanisms and detailed interactions, which could enhance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and the development of new and comprehensive therapeutic approaches.
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Background: The etiological agent of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Conventional molecular methods are used to detect viruses in COVID-19 infected patients. This study aimed to investigate escape mutations from molecular detection on SARS-CoV-2 targeted genes, which indicates the importance of mutations in false-negative PCR test results in the detection of virus in clinical specimens of patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: The 20 nasopharyngeal swabs samples collected from COVID-19 confirmed patients. The SARS-CoV-2 E, nsp12, and N genetic regions are amplified by RT-PCR assay. PCR products were sequenced using the Sanger sequencing method and Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) to assess the polymorphism and mutations performed using MEGA X software and the Maximum likelihood method for the phylogenetic evaluation. Results: Among all COVID-19 cases, 60% and 40% were male and female, respectively. The MSA showed high conservation between all evaluated samples and VOCs in all N, E, and nsp12 genes. Also, the phylogenetic evaluation by the Maximum likelihood method reported high similarity between all SARS-CoV-2 sequenced samples, VOCs, and Wuhan reference sequences in the evaluated region. Conclusion: Our study results approved the relatively conserved suitability of the E, N, and RdRp-gene regions with no diversity, therefore, making them perfect candidates for first-line screening.
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Vitamin A is fat-soluble compounds of retinoid derivate, consisting of retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters. Vitamin A also affects cell growth and differentiation, playing a critical role in the normal formation and function of the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs. According to the role of vitamin A in enhancing immune function, it is known as an anti-inflammatory agent. Also, vitamin A supplementation by reducing morbidity and mortality in different infectious diseases, such as measles, diarrheal disease, measles-related pneumonia, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and malaria considered as a crucial factor against infection. So vitamin A deficiency can be life-threatening, because of impairing the response to infection and significant risk of development of severe respiratory infections in infants and young children. In this paper, we have discussed the effects of vitamin A in modulating immune responses in viral infections and the direct effects of this vitamin on viral replication by comparing its role during different types of viral infections.
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Blood group antigens are one of the most important antigens in humans that have an impact on susceptibility to disease and may be used as a prognosis factor in different diseases such as COVID-19. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and Rhesus antigen and susceptibility to COVID-19. The clinical data of 398 subjects were used in the investigation collected from 148 cases vs. 250 controls. This information was obtained from Shahid Sadoughi Hospital of Yazd (IRAN) University. Blood groups and outcomes were assessed using statistical tests for four populations: COV + vs. COV- and COV +/deceased vs. COV +/live. Out of a total of 148 COVID-19 patients, 80 (54/1%) were male, 68 (45/9%) were female. Among these patients, 33 (22/6%) had type A+, 44 (30/1%) had type B+, 13 (8/9%) had type AB+, and 36 (24/7%) had type O+. On the other hand, out of 148 patients, 126 (86/3%) had positive blood types, and 20 (13/7%) had negative blood types. As a result, no significant difference was found in the relationship between ABO blood groups and RH type and susceptibility to COVID-19 (p-value = 0.392 and p-value = 0.847, respectively). Other data showed a significant difference between patients group with other parameters such as age (p-value<0.001) and gender (p-value<0.001). Although in this study there was no association between blood type and RH type with COVID-19, findings of the association between age and gender can confirm the results of previous studies.
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Each year, many of Muslims including children and adolescents fast in Ramadan. This year, the month of Ramadan is in the period of the outbreak of COVID-19, and due to its spread, fighting this disease has brought about a new challenge for all Muslims in the world. Given the lack of studies on this issue, as well as the direct effect of fasting on the body and soul in the period of COVID-19 pandemic, this study intends to reflect the positive results of fasting in a mini-review. Therefore, online databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, EMBASE and Magiran were screened using the key words including: "Fasting", "Ramadan", "COVID-19", "Coronavirus", "Obesity", "Mental health", "Muslim" for the latest information. These keywords were searched from November 2001 to November 2020 in Persian and English languages. This study revealed that fasting by reducing obesity can help people to control their diabetes and cardiac diseases which are among the underlying diseases of COVID-19. In addition, fasting has an effective role in reducing violence and social problems. Interestingly, avoiding eating and drinking will reduce the contact of infected hands with mouth and reduces infection through swallowing.