Background Although the approved COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective, mass vaccination in Bangladeshi people remains a challenge. As a vaccination effort, the study provided an empirical evidence on willingness to vaccinate by sociodemographic, clinical and regional differences in Bangladeshi adults. Methods This cross-sectional analysis from a household survey of 3646 adults aged 18 years or older was conducted in 8 districts of Bangladesh, from December 12, 2020, to January 7, 2021. Multinomial regression examined the impact of socio-demographic, clinical and healthcare-releated factors on hesitancy and reluctance of vaccination for COVID-19. Results Of the 3646 respondents (2212 men [60.7%]; mean [sd] age, 37.4 [13.9] years), 74.6% reported their willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 when a safe and effective vaccine is available without a fee, while 8.5% were reluctant to vaccinate. With a minimum fee, 46.5% of the respondents showed intent to vaccinate. Among the respondents, 16.8% reported adequate adherence to health safety regulations, and 35.5% reported high confidence in the country’s healthcare system. The COVID-19 vaccine refusal was significantly high in elderly, rural, semi-urban, and slum communities, farmers, day-laborers, homemakers, low-educated group, and those who had low confidence in the country’s healthcare system. Also, the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was high in the elderly population, low-educated group, day-laborers, people with chronic diseases, and people with low confidence in the country’s healthcare system. Conclusion A high prevalence of vaccine refusal and hesitancy was observed in rural people and slum dwellers in Bangladesh. The rural community and slum dwellers had a low literacy level, low adherence to health safety regulations and low confidence in healthcare system. The ongoing app-based registration for vaccination increased hesitancy and reluctancy in low-educated group. For rural, semi-urban, and slum people, outreach centers for vaccination can be established to ensure the vaccine’s nearby availability and limit associated travel costs. In rural areas, community health workers, valued community-leaders, and non-governmental organizations can be utilized to motivate and educate people for vaccination against COVID-19. Further, emphasis should be given to the elderly and diseased people with tailored health messages and assurance from healthcare professionals. The media may play a responsible role with the vaccine education program and eliminate the social stigma about the vaccination. Finally, vaccination should be continued without a fee and thus Bangladesh’s COVID vaccination program can become a model for other low and middle-income countries.

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Immunohistochemical methods were employed to investigate the cellular and ultrastructural localization of the gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43) in rat pituitary. Western blots of pituitary homogenates probed with anti-Cx43 antibodies showed the presence of Cx43 in both anterior and posterior pituitary lobes. By light microscopy (LM), Cx43-immunoreactive (Cx43-IR) puncta were found in all areas of the posterior lobe, but at greater concentrations in peripheral regions of this structure. By electron microscopy (EM), immunogold labelling for Cx43 was seen at gap junctions between thin cytoplasmic processes of pituicytes. No immunoreactivity was detected in the intermediate lobe. The anterior lobe contained puncta similar to but more sparsely scattered than those in the posterior lobe, and by EM analysis these were demonstrated to correspond to labelled gap junctions between stellate cells. In addition, anti-Cx43 antibodies produced intracellular labelling in a small percentage of endocrine cells, which were distributed throughout the anterior lobe and determined by double immunostaining methods to be cells containing luteinizing hormone. By EM, labelling within these cells was associated with predominantly large secretory granules and other loosely organized organelles. The results indicate that gap junctions in the pituitary are composed of Cx43 and that this or a related protein may have a novel intracellular function within gonadotrophs.

Retinoids that cause inhibition of methylcholanthrene-induced neoplastic transformation of C3H/10T1/2 cells enhance gap-junctional communication in carcinogen-initiated cells. Dose-response studies using retinoids of diverse structures and potency demonstrated a good correlation between these two events. Junctional permeability was enhanced by retinol and tetrahydrotetramethylnaphthalenyl propenylbenzoic acid (TTNPB) at concentrations from 10(-10) to 10(-6) M, and by retinoic acid between 10(-8) and 10(-6) M, the same concentrations that inhibited neoplastic transformation. Retinoic acid inhibited permeability at 10(-10) M, at which concentration transformation was enhanced. Retinoids caused similar alteration sin communication in parental 10T1/2 cells. Communication between initiated and 10T1/2 cells was not influenced by TTNPB. The tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) inhibited junctional communication in initiated cells, in 10T1/2 cells and between these two cell lines. After repeated exposure of 10T1/2 cells to TPA only retinoid-enhanced communication was blocked; in contrast, basal communication became refractory. It is proposed that much of the chemopreventive action of retinoids can be explained by the enhanced junctional communication of growth regulatory signals.