First detection of Varicella Zoster Virus clade 9 cases in India during mpox surveillance.

BACKGROUND: The multi-country mpox outbreak across the globe has led to the systematic surveillance of mpox cases in India. During the surveillance of mpox, we encountered cases of Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) in suspected mpox cases amongst children & adults. This study focused on the genomic characterization of VZV in India. METHODS: A total of 331 mpox suspected cases were tested for VZV through real-time PCR, and the positive samples were subjected to next-generation sequencing to retrieve the whole genome of VZV using CLC genomics software. Phylogenetic analysis has been done in MEGA 11.0 software to identify circulating clades. RESULT: Of the 331 suspected cases, 28 cases with vesicular rashes were found to be positive for VZV. The maximum genome could be retrieved from the clinical specimens of 16 cases with coverage greater than 98% when mapped with reference strain Dumas (NC 001348). The phylogenetic analyses of these sequences determined the circulation of clades 1, 5, and 9 in India. Further, the sequence analysis demonstrated non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) among specific ORF of VZV including ORF 14, ORF 22, ORF 36, ORF 37 and ORF 51. Although clade 1 and 5 has been reported earlier, the circulation of clade 9 of VZV has been determined for the first time in India. CONCLUSION: Although the circulation of different clades of VZV was reported from India, the presence of clade 9 was detected for the first time during the mpox surveillance.

Anti-dengue activity of Andrographis paniculata extracts and quantification of dengue viral inhibition by SYBR green reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

BACKGROUND: Dengue virus is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics. As many as 400 million people are infected yearly. Dengue is caused by any one of four related viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent infection with dengue virus and the most effective protective measures are those that avoid mosquito bites. When infected, early recognition and prompt supportive treatment can substantially lower the risk of medical complications and death. Nowadays, the search for natural plant products to fight against viral diseases has been increasing. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To test the anti-dengu viral activity of both ethanolic & aqueous extract of Andrographis paniculata. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro antiviral activity were performed against dengue virus by the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method and SYBR green quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Cytotoxicity was also evaluated by MTT. The dengue viral load (VL) inhibition in plant extracts was characterized by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In this study, the maximum nontoxic dose (MNTD) of A. paniculata plant was determined by testing the ethanolic extracts against Vero cells in vitro. Antiviral assay based on cytopathic effects denoted by degree of inhibition upon treating DENV 1-4-infected Vero cells with MNTD of A. paniculata has the most antiviral inhibitory effects. These results were further verified with an in vitro inhibition assay using MTT and RT-PCR, in which 55%-97% of cell viability were recorded in DENV-1-4-infected cells in different duration. CONCLUSION: Ethanolic extracts treated with dengue VLs also showed a significant changes which were reflected in RT PCR assay.

Immunopotentiating properties of extracellular polysaccharide from Trametes hirsuta strain VKESR.

The effectiveness of extracellular polysaccharides isolated from Trametes hirsuta strain VKESR was evaluated for their immunostimulating properties by in vitro lymphocyte proliferation, phagocytic assay, NK cell activity and cytokine quantification. The splenocyte proliferation assay showed that the extracellular glucans found to have good stimulation index and enhances the NK cell mediated tumor killing. It promotes phagocytosis in treated macrophages in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, the polysaccharides exhibit significant stimulatory effect on cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ whereas the polysaccharide has moderate stimulatory effect pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. These immunostimulating properties help in combating various diseases and could be a promising beginning for further research to study the role of extracellular polysaccharide on the host immune systems.