West Nile Virus (WNV) is a life threatening flavivirus that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. No preventive therapeutics including vaccines against WNV are available for human use. In this study, immunoinformatics approach was performed to design a multi epitope-based subunit vaccine against this deadly pathogen. Human (HLA) and Mice (H-2) allele specific potential T-cell and B-cell epitopes were shortlisted through a stringent procedure. Molecular docking showed selected epitopes that have stronger binding affinity with human TLR-4. Molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the stable nature of the docked complex. Furthermore, in silico cloning analysis ensures efficient expression of desired gene in the microbial system. Interestingly, previous studies showed that two of our selected epitopes have strong immune response against WNV. Therefore, selected epitopes could be strong vaccine candidates to prevent WNV infections in human. However, further in vitro and in vivo investigations could be strengthening the validation of the vaccine candidate against WNV.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) became a pandemic, resulting in an exponentially increased mortality globally and scientists all over the world are struggling to find suitable solutions to combat it. Multiple repurposed drugs have already been in several clinical trials or recently completed. However, none of them shows any promising effect in combating COVID-19. Therefore, developing an effective drug is an unmet global need. RdRp (RNA dependent RNA polymerase) plays a pivotal role in viral replication. Therefore, it is considered as a prime target of drugs that may treat COVID-19. In this study, we have screened a library of compounds, containing approved RdRp inhibitor drugs that were or in use to treat other viruses (favipiravir, sofosbuvir, ribavirin, lopinavir, tenofovir, ritonavir, galidesivir and remdesivir) and their structural analogues, in order to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp. Extensive screening, molecular docking and molecular dynamics show that five structural analogues have notable inhibitory effects against RdRp of SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, comparative protein-antagonists interaction revealed that these compounds fit well in the pocket of RdRp. ADMET analysis of these compounds suggests their potency as drug candidates. Our identified compounds may serve as potential therapeutics for COVID-19.
The world has been fighting against a pandemic for more than a year, caused by a highly infectious disease named COVID-19 rooted by the novel coronavirus 2019. It has already been spread out in most of the countries and a few of which are experiencing second wave. The Novel coronavirus-2019 (SARS CoV-2) incurred more than 1.6 million deaths and 76 million cases in the world population (till 20 December 2020). Although some vaccines are being launched, however, their effectivity and availability are still unknown. Maintaining personal hygiene and social distance are the best way of protection. Hand washing is the utmost recommendation for the maintenance of personal hygiene since hands can be contaminated by the droplets easily. Particularly, in pandemic situations, it is crucial to interrupt the transmission chain of the virus by the practice of proper hand sanitization. The hand sanitization solely depends on the use of effective hand disinfecting agents. Natural formula-based disinfectants can be preferable to chemicals because of higher efficacy and lower adverse effects. Unani medicine is the system based on natural formulations. „Raihan‟ (common sage, Salvia officinalis) is frequently used in Unani medicine for its higher disinfectant role. Common sage extract with ethanol may provide superior efficacy against COVID-19. In this article, we presented information on common sage and its potentiality using with ethanol as a natural, skin-friendly hand sanitizer to prevent harmful action of chemical mixing synthetic sanitizer.
Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. December 2020, 6(4): 611-617
It’s been more than 8 months since COVID-19 became a pandemic and scientists all over the world are struggling to find suitable solutions to combat it. Multiple repurposed drugs have already been in several trials or recently completed. However, none of them shows any promising effect in combating COVID-19. Therefore, developing an effective drug is an unmet global need. RdRP (RNA dependent RNA polymerase) plays a pivotal role in viral replication therefore, it is considered as a prime target of drugs that may treat COVID-19. In this study, we have screened a library of compounds, containing approved RdRP inhibitor drugs in use to treat other viruses (Favipiravir, Sofosbuvir, Ribavirin, Lopinavir, Tenofovir, Ritonavir, Galidesivir and Remdesivir) and their structural homologues, in order to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-Cov-2 RdRP. Extensive screening, molecular docking and molecular dynamics show that five structural analogues have notable inhibitory effects against RdRP of SARS-Cov-2. Importantly, comparative protein-antagonists interaction revealed that these compounds fit well in the pocket of RdRP. ADMET analysis of these compounds suggests their potency as drug candidates. Our identified compounds may serve as potential therapeutics for COVID-19.
The
need for fast detection of etiological agents outside
the narrow
target range of pathogens that may cause an event of an infectious
disease epidemic necessitates rapid sequencing technologies to be
implemented in routine diagnostic procedures. We tested the performance
of a PCR-free rapid nanopore barcoding assay to detect microbial species
by analyzing genomic contents extracted from acute diarrheal case
specimens. Sequenced reads were processed in an automated analysis
module for species identification, whereas pathogenic subspecies detection
was aided by a sequence similarity search against a gene-specific
database. Evaluation of assay and analysis parameters (e.g., run-time,
sequence length, and species hit abundance level) was carried out
using a standard bacterial community for assessing detection accuracy.
It was observed that longer sequence length (≥500 nucleotides)
along with higher species abundance level (≥1%) can be critical
for exclusion of false-negative outcomes, while increased sequencing
run-time can affect the proportional abundance of true-positive species.
Under optimal parameters, the sensitivity of the rapid assay remained
100% for the detection of a target species in a background of nontarget
fecal (diarrheal) DNA that weighed up to 64 times the DNA of the target
species. The method was applied to acute diarrheal samples. Among
these, 62.5% (5/8) were in agreement with target-specific traditional
diagnosis methods for the presence/absence of pathogenic agent(s),
12.5% (1/8) were in disagreement, and pathogenic agents that were
not targeted by the traditional methods were revealed by sequencing
for 25% (2/8) of samples. These observations suggest that further
optimization and evaluation of the rapid nanopore sequencing method
could potentiate the widening of the range of pathogens that can be
detected in acute diarrheal samples in the context of regular diagnostic
needs as well as epidemics.
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