ABSTRACT
The outbreak of novel SARS-CoV-2 virion has wreaked havoc with a high prevalence of respiratory illness and high transmission due to a vague understanding of the viral antigenicity augmenting dire challenge to public health globally. This viral member requisite the expansion of diagnostic and therapeutic tools to track its transmission and confront through vaccine development. Therefore, prophylactic strategies are mandatory. Virulence-related spike proteins can be the desirable candidate befitting computational design of vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 followed by meteoric development of immune epitopes. This study aims to characterize Spike protein using the existing knowledge related to the immunological profile of SARS-CoV-2 to predict immunogenic epitopes based on antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, immunogenicity, and population coverage. Applying in-silico approaches, a set of twenty-four B lymphocyte-based epitopes and forty-six T lymphocyte-based epitopes (MHC-I and MHC-II) were selected. The predicted epitopes were evaluated for their intrinsic properties. Physico-chemical characterization of epitopes qualify them for further in vitro and in vivo analysis pre-requisite vaccine development. This study presents a set of screened epitopes that binds to the HLA- specific allelic proteins that can be employed for designing a multi-epitopic peptide vaccine construct (MEPVC) against SARS-CoV-2 that will confer vaccine-induced protective immunity due to its structural stability.
Subject(s)
Respiratory Insufficiency , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse ReactionsABSTRACT
The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 virus) is posing a significant threat by affecting millions of people across the globe showing mild to severe symptoms of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. The absence of precise information on primary transmission, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics for patients with COVID-19 makes prevention and control tough. In the current scenario, only supportive treatment is available, which in turn possess a biggest challenge for scientists to develop specific drugs and vaccines for COVID-19. Further, India, with the second largest populated country and fluctuating climatic conditions quarterly, has high vulnerability towards COVID-19 infection. Thus, this highlights the importance of a better understanding of the COVID-19 infection, pathology, diagnosis and its treatment. The present review article has been intended to discuss the COVID-19 biology, mechanism of infection in humans with primary effects on pregnancy, the nervous system, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The article will also discuss the drug repurposing strategy as an alternative line of treatment and clinical practices recommended by the World Health Organization and other government agencies and represent the COVID-19 scenario with the Indian context.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Health Care Workers (HCWs) can acquire or transmit Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) from and to patients respectively. There is limited data on risk factors for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) infection among HCWs. Aim: To evaluate the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst HCWs of tertiary care hospitals in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based crosssectional study was conducted among 801 HCWs from three tertiary care hospitals. Data regarding demography, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, immunosuppressive therapy, asthma), symptoms, contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and protective precautions at the work place was collected. Infection diagnosed by Respiratory Tract samples-Reverse Trancriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test was correlated with the above factors. Results: Of the participants, 50.1% were working in designated COVID-19 area;85.1% had no co-morbidity. A total of 62 of the 801 (7.75%) HCWs had a history of positive RT-PCR for SARSCoV-2. Only asthma was associated with a significant higher in infection rate. Loss of taste/smell (30%), acute febrile illness (46.4%), acute respiratory illness (18.5%) were more common in persons with RT-PCR positivity (p<0.05). Visit to fever clinic, positive household member, and a definite history of exposure to a COVID-19 positive patient, were significantly associated with higher risk of infection. Working in designated COVID-19 hospital was not a significant risk factor (8.5% vs 5.6%). HCWs on Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prophylaxis had significantly lower rate of infection. Conclusion: Rate of SARS-CoV-2 positivity among HCWs was 7.7%. Presence of symptoms, especially, loss of taste/smell, fever and respiratory symptoms are associated with high positive rates. Working in a designated COVID hospital was not a risk factor for increased rate of infection. HCQ prophylaxis is associated with reduced rate of COVID-19 among HCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research is the property of JCDR Research & Publications Private Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)