Lipids fluctuations in mosquitoes upon arboviral infections.

Arboviruses are responsible for several emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, with dengue, Zika virus disease and Chikungunya fever being the most important arboviral diseases nowadays. Infection of these viruses depends primarily on its ability to replicate and disseminate in mosquitoes. Since these viruses are enveloped, viral replication, assembly and release occurs in the cellular membranes, which depends on the manipulation of host lipid metabolism. Specifically in mammalian cells replication, they use host lipids to establish a compartment known as replication complex that contains the replicase complex. This complex includes viral RNA, proteins and host factors necessary for a successful replication in mammalian cells. Although little is known about extrinsic factor(s) needed for arbovirus replication in vectors,recent reports show that high lipid concentrations are related with increased viral replication in mosquito cells infected with dengue, Zika and Chikungunya viruses. Here, we present a review that focuses on the cellular mechanisms and the lipid environment alteration in mosquito vector after arbovirus infection and their relationship with arbovirus replication.

Virucidal Activity of Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by Green Chemistry Using Garlic Extract.

Measles virus (MeV) is a paramyxovirus that infects humans, principally children. Despite the existence of an effective and safe vaccine, the number of cases of measles has increased due to lack of vaccination coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the number of cases worldwide multiplied fourfold between January and March 2019, to 112,000. Today, there is no treatment available for MeV. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that natural extracts (herbal or algal) with antiviral activity can also work as reducing agents that, in combination with nanotechnology, offer an innovative option to counteract viral infections. Here, we synthetized and evaluated the antiviral activity of gold nanoparticles using garlic extract (Allium sativa) as a reducing agent (AuNPs-As). These nanoparticles actively inhibited MeV replication in Vero cells at a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 8.829 µg/mL, and the selectivity index (SI) obtained was 16.05. AuNPs-As likely inhibit viral infection by blocking viral particles directly, showing a potent virucidal effect. Gold nanoparticles may be useful as a promising strategy for treating and controlling the infection of MeV and other related enveloped viruses.