The vital roles of diagnostic tools and vaccines are prominent in controlling COVID-19. Spike protein of the SARS CoV-2, specifically the epitopes in that protein, are the critical components of the vaccines and immunological diagnostic tools. Two epitopes in the spike protein, the S14P5 and S21P2, identified previously are of great interest because they are linear and elicit neutralizing antibodies. The present study formulated each epitope in the tandem-repeat structure to increase their immunogenicity and facilitate their production. The tandem repeats (TR) were expressed efficiently in E. coli, yielding 58 mg and 46 mg per liter culture for TR-S14P5 and TR-S212, respectively. ELISA using either one of the repeating epitopes can be used as a serological test to identify individuals infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The area under curves (AUC), based on testing 157 serum samples from COVID-19 patients and 26 from COVID-19-free individuals, were 0.806 and 0.889 for TR-S14P5 and TR-S21P2-based ELISAs, respectively. For 100% diagnostic specificity, the sensitivity was only 70%. The low sensitivity supposedly resulted from some samples being from early infection prior to antibody conversion. Both recombinant epitopes were highly immunogenic in rabbits, and the immune sera recognized inactivated SARS CoV-2 virus in dot-blot assays. These antibodies should be useful as a reagent for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Furthermore, the TR-S14P5 and TR-S21P2, being conserved and denaturation-resistant, are envisaged to be ideal for intra-nasal vaccines, which are required to complement current COVID-19 to overcome rapidly mutated SARS CoV-2.
<p><em>Kaempferia galanga</em> L. is a traditional medicine with antitumor properties, as indicated by its immunomodulatory activities. This study aimed to determine the effect of <em>K. galanga</em> on lymphocyte cell proliferation activity as an indicator of immunomodulatory properties. This study was conducted at the Indonesian Research Center for Veterinary Science (February to April 2018). The immunomodulatory activity of the extract was evaluated with an <em>in vitro</em> splenocyte proliferation assay. The assay was based on cellular enzymatic synthesis to transform the XTT from formazan tetrazolium as an indicator. The <em>K. galanga</em> extract was obtained by 96% ethanol extraction. The test was conducted in an aseptic condition, consisted of five treatment groups with three replications each. Three groups of splenocyte cell culture, each with extract concentration of 2.5 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup>, 25 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup>, and 250 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup>, as well as a positive (Concanavalin A/Con A) and negative (cell only) control. The cell suspension (10x10<sup>4 </sup>cells/ml) was distributed on 96-well plates and cultured following the treatment groups. The same five plates were made for five days of observation and retrieved daily by observing an Elisa reader at 450 nm. The extract of <em>K. galanga </em>at 2.5 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup>, 25 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup>, and 250 µg.ml<sup>-1</sup> significantly (P <0.05) promoted splenocyte proliferation compared to control. Therefore, it was expected that <em>K. galanga </em>has a high potential to be used as immunomodulators. Hence, further investigations should be done to clarify the mechanisms of the immunomodulatory effect of <em>K. galanga</em> as an antitumor <em>in vivo</em>.</p>
Heavy metal toxicity in livestock animals will affect and damage the body organs. The animals that are exposed to heavy metal residues will suffer pain and experience pathological changes in body organs that support the metabolic function of the body's work. Some organs lead to the specific diagnosis of specific contaminating heavy metals. Examination of pathological changes in the body of animals will help a lot in diagnosing, handling animals that are exposed to certain heavy metal toxicity. The respiratory tract, digestive tract and reproductive tract in animals can direct the detection of the effects of toxicity of certain heavy metal. Organs that experience pathological changes can also to help diagnose contamination due to certain heavy metals. The purpose of this writing is to help adding the knowledge of pathological changes regarding heavy metal toxicity Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Cooper (Cu), Mercury (Hg), Mangan (Mn) and Lead (Pb), in the organs of animals.
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