Post-pandemic American travelers' behavior given a chikungunya outbreak

Introduction: Mosquito-borne diseases have historically affected communities, especially in tropical areas where mosquitoes and illnesses are endemic. Globalization, climate change, and increased travel have created ideal conditions for outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases that could threaten the American health system and place a burden on the national economy, especially in southern states. Methods: The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional design with a retrospective survey carried out using the Pollfish platform in June 2022. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression to assess the three hypotheses: (H1) Chikungunya awareness is related to sociodemographic factors;(H2) Wearing long sleeves and pants is related to (a) Chikungunya awareness and (b) information-seeking behaviors, when controlling for sociodemographic variables;(H3) Use of insect repellents is related to (a) Chikungunya awareness and (b) information-seeking behaviors when controlling for sociodemographic variables. Results: The results highlight the relationships between chikungunya's awareness, information-seeking behavior, and willingness to engage in protective behaviors. 45.91% of the participants mentioned not having heard about chikungunya, and 67.07% of respondents had sought information about mosquito-borne illnesses in the past, 55.9% have looked at the U.S. State Department's website for mosquito-borne diseases, 38.32% have visited the U.S. CDC website for information specifically about chikungunya. Conclusions: The results of this study show that most American travelers are unaware of chikungunya and its mode of transmission. Travel could likely introduce the chikungunya virus to the United States. Despite increased health information-seeking behavior among U.S. residents after the Covid19 pandemic, Chikungunya awareness is low.

A phase 1, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an mRNA-based chikungunya virus vaccine in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), causes a significant global health burden, and there is currently no approved vaccine to prevent chikungunya disease. In this study, the safety and immunogenicity of a CHIKV mRNA vaccine candidate (mRNA-1388) were evaluated in healthy participants in a CHIKV-nonendemic region. METHODS: This phase 1, first-in-human, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study enrolled healthy adults (ages 18-49 years) between July 2017 and March 2019 in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned (3:1) to receive 2 intramuscular injections 28 days apart with mRNA-1388 in 3 dose-level groups (25 µg, 50 µg, and 100 µg) or placebo and were followed for up to 1 year. Safety (unsolicited adverse events [AEs]), tolerability (local and systemic reactogenicity; solicited AEs), and immunogenicity (geometric mean titers [GMTs] of CHIKV neutralizing and binding antibodies) of mRNA-1388 versus placebo were evaluated. RESULTS: Sixty participants were randomized and received ≥ 1 vaccination; 54 (90 %) completed the study. mRNA-1388 demonstrated favorable safety and reactogenicity profiles at all dose levels. Immunization with mRNA-1388 induced substantial and persistent humoral responses. Dose-dependent increases in neutralizing antibody titers were observed; GMTs (95 % confidence intervals [CIs]) at 28 days after dose 2 were 6.2 (5.1-7.6) for mRNA-1388 25 µg, 53.8 (26.8-108.1) for mRNA-1388 50 µg, 92.8 (43.6-197.6) for mRNA-1388 100 µg, and 5.0 (not estimable) for placebo. Persistent humoral responses were observed up to 1 year after vaccination and remained higher than placebo in the 2 higher mRNA-1388 dose groups. The development of CHIKV-binding antibodies followed a similar trend as that observed with neutralizing antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: mRNA-1388, the first mRNA vaccine against CHIKV, was well tolerated and elicited substantial and long-lasting neutralizing antibody responses in healthy adult participants in a nonendemic region. CLINICALTRIALS: gov: NCT03325075.

Vaccine development for mosquito-borne viral diseases.

Mosquito-borne viral diseases are a group of viral illnesses that are predominantly transmitted by mosquitoes, including viruses from the Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families. In recent years, outbreaks caused by Dengue and Zika viruses from the Flaviviridae family, and Chikungunya virus from the Togaviridae family, have raised significant concerns for public health. However, there are currently no safe and effective vaccines available for these viruses, except for CYD-TDV, which has been licensed for Dengue virus. Efforts to control the transmission of COVID-19, such as home quarantine and travel restrictions, have somewhat limited the spread of mosquito-borne viral diseases. Several vaccine platforms, including inactivated vaccines, viral-vector vaccines, live attenuated vaccines, protein vaccines, and nucleic acid vaccines, are being developed to combat these viruses. This review analyzes the various vaccine platforms against Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya viruses and provides valuable insights for responding to potential outbreaks.

Overview on Mrna Vaccines Beyond Covid-19

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines: COVID-19 pandemic has made an extraordinary impact on global vaccine technology platform developments. Never in human history have there at least 6 vaccine platforms including: inactivated, protein subunit, VLP and other 3 new platforms i.e., mRNA, viral vector, and DNA, with more than 160 vaccine candidates being developed and tested in clinical trials. Nonetheless, among these several vaccine platforms, mRNA vaccine has been proven to be one of the most effective vaccines against COVID-19. There are two mRNA vaccines authorized for emergency use within a year and currently more than 20 mRNA vaccines are in clinical trials. The main advantages of mRNA vaccines are that they are speedily to design and develop, induce strong antibody and T-cell responses, manufacturing faster and at a lower cost. However, one of the major limitations is that it must be stored in cold temperatures. Currently more than billion doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have been given globally. mRNA vaccines will be a key platform for next pandemics preparedness, it is therefore establishing this platform in various regions and LMICs is critical. Beyond COVID-19: A number of viral and cancer mRNA vaccines have been developing even before COVID-19. At least 12 mRNA vaccines against various infectious diseases are now in clinical evaluation, including Chikungunya virus, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Human metapneumovirus and parainfluenza virus type3, HIV, Influenza, Nipah, Rabies, Lasa, RSV, Zika, Varicella-zoster virus. Only few are entering phase 3 such as a CMV vaccine, RSV, seasonal influenza. Current mRNA cancer vaccines development, including brain, breast, melanoma, esophagus, lung, ovarian, prostate and solid tumors. Most are aimed for personalized therapy. By 2023, at least 1 viral mRNA vaccine may get approval, whereas a cancer vaccine might take much longer time. Nevertheless, the remaining challenge at the global level is how to truly overcome the vaccine inequity issues in a sustainable way.Copyright © 2023

Computer-Aided vaccine design for selected positive-sense single stranded RNA viruses

Spontaneous mutations and lack of replication fidelity in positive-sense single stranded RNA viruses (+ssRNA virus) result in emergence of genetic variants with diverse viral morphogenesis and surface proteins that affect its antigenicity. This high mutability in +ssRNA viruses has induced antiviral drug resistance and ability to overcome vaccines that subsequently resulted in rapid viral evolution and high mortality rate in human and livestock. Computer aided vaccine design and immunoinformatics play a crucial role in expediting the vaccine production protocols, antibody production and identifying suitable immunogenic regions or epitopes from the genome sequences of the pathogens. T cell and B cell epitopes can be identified in pathogens by immunoinformatics algorithms and methods that enhance the analysis of protective immunity, vaccine safety, immunity modelling and vaccine efficacy. This rapid and cost-effective computational vaccine design promotes development of potential vaccine that could induce immune response in host against rapidly mutating pathogens like +ssRNA viruses. Epitope-based vaccine is a striking concept that has been widely employed in recent years to construct vaccines targeting rapidly mutating +ssRNA viruses. Therefore, the present review provides an overview about the current progress and methodology in computer-aided vaccine design for the most notable +ssRNA viruses namely Hepatitis C virus, Dengue virus, Chikungunya virus and Coronaviruses. This review also highlights the applications of various immunoinformatics tools for vaccine design and for modelling immune response against +ssRNA viruses. © 2023, National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research. All rights reserved.

Summary of global surveillance data of infectious diseases in January 2023

In January 2023, a total of 64 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 235 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (235), monkeypox (110), dengue fever (31), measles (27) and cholera (15). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Nipah virus disease (62.5%), Ebola virus disease (47.0%), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (37.5%), Lassa fever (15.1%) and West Nile fever (7.6%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, measles and dengue fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, cholera and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, cholera, monkeypox, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and invasive group A streptococcus infection.

Construction and immunogenicity of an mRNA vaccine against chikungunya virus.

Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) has spread to more than 100 countries worldwide, with frequent outbreaks in Europe and the Americas in recent years. Despite the relatively low lethality of infection, patients can suffer from long-term sequelae. Until now, no available vaccines have been approved for use; however, increasing attention is being paid to the development of vaccines against chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and the World Health Organization has included vaccine development in the initial blueprint deliverables. Here, we developed an mRNA vaccine using the nucleotide sequence encoding structural proteins of CHIKV. And immunogenicity was evaluated by neutralization assay, Enzyme-linked immunospot assay and Intracellular cytokine staining. The results showed that the encoded proteins elicited high levels of neutralizing antibody titers and T cell-mediated cellular immune responses in mice. Moreover, compared with the wild-type vaccine, the codon-optimized vaccine elicited robust CD8+ T-cell responses and mild neutralizing antibody titers. In addition, higher levels of neutralizing antibody titers and T-cell immune responses were obtained using a homologous booster mRNA vaccine regimen of three different homologous or heterologous booster immunization strategies. Thus, this study provides assessment data to develop vaccine candidates and explore the effectiveness of the prime-boost approach.

Innate immune pathway modulator screen identifies STING pathway activation as a strategy to inhibit multiple families of arbo and respiratory viruses.

RNA viruses continue to remain a threat for potential pandemics due to their rapid evolution. Potentiating host antiviral pathways to prevent or limit viral infections is a promising strategy. Thus, by testing a library of innate immune agonists targeting pathogen recognition receptors, we observe that Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), stimulator of interferon genes (STING), TLR8, and Dectin-1 ligands inhibit arboviruses, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), West Nile virus, and Zika virus to varying degrees. STING agonists (cAIMP, diABZI, and 2',3'-cGAMP) and Dectin-1 agonist scleroglucan demonstrate the most potent, broad-spectrum antiviral function. Furthermore, STING agonists inhibit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68) infection in cardiomyocytes. Transcriptome analysis reveals that cAIMP treatment rescue cells from CHIKV-induced dysregulation of cell repair, immune, and metabolic pathways. In addition, cAIMP provides protection against CHIKV in a chronic CHIKV-arthritis mouse model. Our study describes innate immune signaling circuits crucial for RNA virus replication and identifies broad-spectrum antivirals effective against multiple families of pandemic potential RNA viruses.

[6]-Gingerol: A narrative review of its beneficial effect on human health

Ginger rhizome, a common spice that has been traditionally used in various health aspects. The rhizome contains volatile oil and nonvolatile oil compounds, including oleoresin. Chemical constituents of ginger are numerous and vary depending on the geographic origin, harvest process, and storage conditions. [6]-Gingerol, a major bioactive constituent of ginger, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, antioxidant, and antiemetic effects. Therefore, it is a valuable food molecule with benefits for human health. This review summarized current findings on [6]-gingerol with regards to its beneficial effects on human health, encompassing the biological activities, mechanisms of action and toxicity assessment. In addition, relevant evidence in support of the application of [6]-gingerol towards the promotion health and vitality, as well as methods for extraction, identification and quantitative determination of [6]-gingerol are also provided.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)

Summary of global surveillance data of infectious diseases in December 2022

In December 2022, a total of 68 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 235 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (235), monkeypox (110), dengue fever (28), measles (27) and cholera (14). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (47.0%), Rift Valley fever (44.2%), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (40.0%), Lassa fever (17.6%) and West Nile fever (7.6%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue fever and measles. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, cholera and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, monkeypox, malaria and measles, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, cholera, monkeypox, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and invasive group A streptococcus infection.

Enhancing vaccination of key populations: lessons and actions

Vaccination is effective in preventing the increase of disease, especially emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), and it is particularly important for people in close contact with infected sources and susceptible populations who are at increased risk of getting infectious diseases due to behavior, occupation or health. Despite targeted vaccination guidelines, inadequate vaccination of the key populations fails to receive widespread attention, resulting in a high-risk transition of disease from key populations to general populations. Strengthening the vaccination of the susceptible groups can effectively block the spread of pathogens to general populations, and reduce the consumption of medical resources in universal vaccination, which has significant economic value. In this review, we describe the prevalence of EIDs, analyze the experience and lessons of infectious disease vaccination in key populations through several cases, and further explore the causes for the decline in vaccination rates of key populations. According to the trends of EIDs, a plan to strengthen the vaccination of key populations is proposed to effectively prevent the transition of EIDs from key populations to general populations.

ChikvInt: a Chikungunya virus-host protein-protein interaction database.

Chikungunya is a fast-mutating virus causing Chikungunya virus disease (ChikvD) with a significant load of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) around the world. The outbreak of this virus is significantly higher in the tropical countries. Several experiments have identified crucial viral-host protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between Chikungunya Virus (Chikv) and the human host. However, no standard database that catalogs this PPI information exists. Here we develop a Chikv-Human PPI database, ChikvInt, to facilitate understanding ChikvD disease pathogenesis and the progress of vaccine studies. ChikvInt consists of 109 interactions and is available at www.chikvint.com.

Production and characterization of lentivirus vector-based SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses with dual reporters: Evaluation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 viral effect of Korean red ginseng.

Background: Pseudotyped virus systems that incorporate viral proteins have been widely employed for the rapid determination of the effectiveness and neutralizing activity of drug and vaccine candidates in biosafety level 2 facilities. We report an efficient method for producing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pseudovirus with dual luciferase and fluorescent protein reporters. Moreover, using the established method, we also aimed to investigate whether Korean red ginseng (KRG), a valuable Korean herbal medicine, can attenuate infectivity of the pseudotyped virus. Methods: A pseudovirus of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-2pv) was constructed and efficiently produced using lentivirus vector systems available in the public domain by the introduction of critical mutations in the cytoplasmic tail of the spike protein. KRG extract was dose-dependently treated to Calu-3 cells during SARS2-pv treatment to evaluate the protective activity against SARS-CoV-2. Results: The use of Calu-3 cells or the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in HEK293T cells enabled SARS-2pv infection of host cells. Coexpression of transmembrane protease serine subtype 2 (TMPRSS2), which is the activator of spike protein, with ACE2 dramatically elevated luciferase activity, confirming the importance of the TMPRSS2-mediated pathway during SARS-CoV-2 entry. Our pseudovirus assay also revealed that KRG elicited resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung cells, suggesting its beneficial health effect. Conclusion: The method demonstrated the production of SARS-2pv for the analysis of vaccine or drug candidates. When KRG was assessed by the method, it protected host cells from coronavirus infection. Further studies will be followed for demonstrating this potential benefit.

Infections and nervous system dysfunctions

Spread of pathogens to the nervous system is a serious complication of infections. In addition to infections with well-known microbes and viruses in the Western world, and the World Health Organization priorities of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, several neglected tropical infectious diseases target the nervous system and have high mortality rates. Infections can cause cognitive and behavioral disturbances as well as late-onset epilepsy in survivors. The specialized environment in the brain dampens immune responses to avoid harmful effects on the nonrenewable nervous tissue. Some pathogens can therefore evade efficient elimination, persist, and be involved in interactions with nervous tissue that create balances, which, if lost by the host, can result in long-term functional disturbances. Viruses also can be useful tools to study the structure and function of the nervous system. Neuroscience can disclose mechanisms of neurodegeneration and brain dysfunctions from studies of the interplay among pathogens, nervous tissues, and immune responses that could lead to better management of brain disorders. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anti-Arbovirus Antibodies Cross-React With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is found in regions where dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses are endemic. Any serological cross-reactivity between DENV, CHIKV, and SARS-CoV-2 is significant as it could lead to misdiagnosis, increased severity, or cross-protection. This study examined the potential cross-reactivity of anti-DENV and CHIKV antibodies with SARS-CoV-2 using acute and convalescent-phase samples collected before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. These included healthy, normal human (NHS, n = 6), CHIKV-positive (n = 14 pairs acute and convalescent), primary DENV-positive (n = 20 pairs), secondary DENV-positive (n = 20 pairs), and other febrile illnesses sera (n = 23 pairs). Samples were tested using an in-house SARS-CoV-2 and a EUROIMMUN IgA and IgG ELISAs. All NHS samples were negative, whereas 3.6% CHIKV, 21.7% primary DENV, 15.7% secondary DENV, and 10.8% febrile diseases sera resulted as anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody positive. The EUROIMMUN ELISA using spike 1 as the antigen detected more positives among the primary DENV infections than the in-house ELISA using spike 1-receptor binding domain (RBD) protein. Among ELISA-positive samples, four had detectable neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 reporter virus particles yet none had detectable neutralizing antibodies against the live Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2. These data demonstrated the SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic cross-reactivity, but not neutralizing antibody cross-reactivity, among dengue seropositive cases. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause significant morbidity globally, including in areas where DENV and CHIKV are endemic. Reports using rapid diagnostic and ELISAs have demonstrated that serological cross-reactivity between DENV and SARS-CoV-2 can occur. Furthermore, it has been observed that convalescent DENV patients are at a lower risk of developing COVID-19. This phenomenon can interfere with the accuracy of serological testing and clinical management of both DENV and COVID-19 patients. In this study, the cross-reactivity of primary/secondary anti-DENV, CHIKV, and other febrile illness antibodies with SARS-CoV-2 using two ELISAs has been shown. Among ELISA-positive samples, four had detectable levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 reporter virus particles. However, none had detectable neutralizing antibodies against the live Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2. These data demonstrated SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic cross-reactivity, but not neutralizing antibody cross-reactivity, among dengue seropositive cases. The data discussed here provide information regarding diagnosis and may help guide appropriate public health interventions.

In Depth Viral Diversity Analysis in Atypical Neurological and Neonatal Chikungunya Infections in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The human infection usually manifests as a febrile and incapacitating arthritogenic illness, self-limiting and non-lethal. However, since 2013, CHIKV spreading through the tropics and to the Americas was accompanied by an increasing number of cases of atypical disease presentation, namely severe neuropathies and neonatal infection due to intrapartum vertical transmission. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these conditions have not been fully elucidated. However, arbovirus intrahost genetic diversity is thought to be linked to viral pathogenesis. To determine whether particular viral variants could be somehow associated, we analyzed the intrahost genetic diversity of CHIKV in three infected patients with neurological manifestations and three mothers infected during the intrapartum period, as well as their babies following vertical transmission. No statistically supported differences were observed for the genetic variability (nucleotide substitutions/gene length) along the genome between the groups. However, the newborn and cerebrospinal fluid samples (corresponding to virus passed through the placenta and/or the blood-brain barrier (BBB)) presented a different composition of their intrahost mutant ensembles compared to maternal or patient serum samples, even when concurrent. This finding could be consistent with the unidirectional virus transmission through these barriers, and the effect of selective bottlenecks during the transmission event. In addition, a higher proportion of defective variants (insertions/deletions and stop codons) was detected in the CSF and maternal samples and those were mainly distributed within the viral non-structural genes. Since defective viral genomes in RNA viruses are known to contribute to the outcome of acute viral infections and influence disease severity, their role in these atypical cases should be further investigated. Finally, with the in silico approach adopted, we detected no relevant non-conservative mutational pattern that could provide any hint of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these atypical cases. The present analysis represents a unique contribution to our understanding of the transmission events in these cases and generates hypotheses regarding underlying mechanisms, that can be explored further.

3D engineered tissue models for studying human-specific infectious viral diseases

Viral infections cause damage to various organ systems by inducing organ-specific symptoms or systemic multi-organ damage. Depending on the infection route and virus type, infectious diseases are classified as respiratory, nervous, immune, digestive, or skin infections. Since these infectious diseases can widely spread in the community and their catastrophic effects are severe, identification of their causative agent and mechanisms underlying their pathogenesis is an urgent necessity. Although infection-associated mechanisms have been studied in two-dimensional (2D) cell culture models and animal models, they have shown limitations in organ-specific or human-associated pathogenesis, and the development of a human-organ-mimetic system is required. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) engineered tissue models, which can present human organ-like physiology in terms of the 3D structure, utilization of human-originated cells, recapitulation of physiological stimuli, and tight cell-cell interactions, were developed. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that these models can recapitulate infection-associated pathologies. In this review, we summarized the recent advances in 3D engineered tissue models that mimic organ-specific viral infections. First, we briefly described the limitations of the current 2D and animal models in recapitulating human-specific viral infection pathology. Next, we provided an overview of recently reported viral infection models, focusing particularly on organ-specific infection pathologies. Finally, a future perspective that must be pursued to reconstitute more human-specific infectious diseases is presented. Copyright © 2022 The Authors

Plant-Derived Recombinant Vaccines against Zoonotic Viruses.

Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases cause serious illness with billions of cases, and millions of deaths. The most effective way to restrict the spread of zoonotic viruses among humans and animals and prevent disease is vaccination. Recombinant proteins produced in plants offer an alternative approach for the development of safe, effective, inexpensive candidate vaccines. Current strategies are focused on the production of highly immunogenic structural proteins, which mimic the organizations of the native virion but lack the viral genetic material. These include chimeric viral peptides, subunit virus proteins, and virus-like particles (VLPs). The latter, with their ability to self-assemble and thus resemble the form of virus particles, are gaining traction among plant-based candidate vaccines against many infectious diseases. In this review, we summarized the main zoonotic diseases and followed the progress in using plant expression systems for the production of recombinant proteins and VLPs used in the development of plant-based vaccines against zoonotic viruses.

miR-142 Targets TIM-1 in Human Endothelial Cells: Potential Implications for Stroke, COVID-19, Zika, Ebola, Dengue, and Other Viral Infections.

T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 1 (TIM-1) has been recently identified as one of the factors involved in the internalization of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human cells, in addition to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), neuropilin-1, and others. We hypothesized that specific microRNAs could target TIM-1, with potential implications for the management of patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). By combining bioinformatic analyses and functional assays, we identified miR-142 as a specific regulator of TIM-1 transcription. Since TIM-1 has been implicated in the regulation of endothelial function at the level of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and its levels have been shown to be associated with stroke and cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, we validated miR-142 as a functional modulator of TIM-1 in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs). Taken together, our results indicate that miR-142 targets TIM-1, representing a novel strategy against cerebrovascular disorders, as well as systemic complications of SARS-CoV-2 and other viral infections.