In view of the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, the research community is focusing on development of diagnostics, treatment, and vaccines to halt or reverse this scenario. Although there are already various vaccines available, adaptive mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome can alter its pathogenic potential and, at the same time, increase the difficulty of developing drugs or immunization by vaccines. Nanotechnology carries a potential to act in all stages in fighting this viral disease, with several possibilities of strategies such as applying nanoparticles directly as antivirals in delivery systems against these viruses or incorporating them in materials, with power of achievement in therapeutics, vaccines and prevention. In this paper, we review and bring insights of recent studies using metal nanocomposites as antivirals against coronavirus and structurally similar viruses.
Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective capacity of the exopolysaccharide-producing Lactobacillus rhamnosus V5 against invasion in vitro and in vivo with S. typhimurium.
Methodology: We tested the antimicrobial activity of the compound extracted from the lactobacilli against S. typhimurium directly, also we tested the interference of this compound in S. typhimurium adherence and invasion of HeLa and HEp-2 cells (in vitro testings). For in vivo experiments, we used 16 BALB/c female mice. Through gavage method we introduced L. rhamnosus as probiotic and then infected mice with S. enterica serovar typhimurium. After euthanasia, spleen, liver and Peyer's patches removed for microbiological and histopathological analysis.
Results: The results showed that lactobacilli were able to produce antimicrobial compounds against S. typhimurium. These lactobacilli inhibited the adhesion and invasion of S. typhimurium in HeLa and HEp-2 cells, respectively. The challenge assay in the murine model demonstrated a decrease in pathogen translocation in the spleen and liver from mice treated with probiotic as well as protection of ileal tissue in lactobacilli-treated mice. The histopathological analysis demonstrated the presence of prominent lymphoid nodules in the ileum from the non-treated lactobacilli mice.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that L. rhamnosus improved the effectiveness of the intestinal barrier and, thus, could be a potential probiotic to control salmonellosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.