The Beneficial Effects of QIAPI 1® against Pentavalent Arsenic-Induced Lung Toxicity: A Hypothetical Model for SARS CoV2-I nduced Lung Toxicity

Abstract

: Exposure to environmental toxicants such as Arsenic (As) can result in As-induced alterations in immune regulators. Consequently, people who are more prone to viral infections like influenza A or B, H1N1, SARS CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus), and SARS CoV2 may develop susceptibility to immune responses in their lungs because our previous reports delineated the ability of QIAPI 1®, a melanin precursor, to dissociate water molecules with simultaneous therapeutic efficacy against central nervous system (CNS) diseases, retinopathy, and As-induced renal toxicity. Given the commonalities of lung pathology of SARS CoV and As-induced toxicity, the aim of this study is to decipher the efficacy of QIAPI 1® against pentavalent As-induced lung toxicity by examining the pulmonary pathology. Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining was used for ascertaining the lung pathology in Wistar rat models. Animals were divided into 3 groups: control group, group treated with pentavalent As, and a group treated with pentavalent As and QIAPI 1®. There were no significant changes in lung histopathology in the control group as indicated by intact morphology. As-treated group revealed damage to the histoarchitecture with pulmonary edema, interstitial fibrosis, diffuse alveolar damage, Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP)-lesions, formation of hyaline membrane, multinucleated giant pneumocytes, atypical pneumocytes, inflammatory cell infiltration, and interstitial edema. The group treated with As and QIAPI 1® significantly associated with mitigated histological signs of lung inflammation induced by Arsenic. Therefore, QIAPI 1® can be recommended as antagonistic to As-induced lung toxicity. In conclusion, this model could be preferred as a hypothetical model to examine the efficacy of QIAPI 1® in SARS CoV2-induced pulmonary damage. Future studies are warranted to delineate the efficacy of QIAPI 1® against SARS CoV and SARS CoV2 lung pathology.

Development of antibody resistance in emerging mutant strains of SARS CoV‐2: Impediment for COVID‐19 vaccines

“…33 Beta-(HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1) and alpha-CoVs (HCoV-229E and HCoVNL63) were shown to infect the upper respiratory tract and cause mild respiratory diseases in humans and animals. 13,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Similar infection-related symptoms were recorded for the most recent variant (Omicron). 17 The lower respiratory tract infection with SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV provoked various degrees of respiratory syndromes and extrarespiratory complications in humans.…”

“…The phylogenetic analysis of CoVs revealed that SARS‐CoV‐2 is more closely related to bat‐SL‐CoV ZXC21 and bat‐SL‐CoV ZC45, and more distantly related to SARS‐CoV 33 . Beta‐ (HCoV‐OC43 and HCoV‐HKU1) and alpha‐CoVs (HCoV‐229E and HCoVNL63) were shown to infect the upper respiratory tract and cause mild respiratory diseases in humans and animals 13,15‐23 . Similar infection‐related symptoms were recorded for the most recent variant (Omicron) 17 .…”

“… 17 The lower respiratory tract infection with SARS‐CoV, SARS‐CoV‐2, and MERS‐CoV provoked various degrees of respiratory syndromes and extra‐respiratory complications in humans. 21 , 34…”

“…15 Currently, 58 complete genome sequences have been reported for Orthocoronavirinae subfamily including 24 genomes for alpha-CoVs, 18 for beta-CoVs, 10 for delta-CoVs, 5 for gamma-CoVs, and yet-to-be-identified number of subfamilies for Omicron (Table 1). [19][20][21][22] Increasing population immunity, a product of natural infections and immunizations, is predicted to amplify the selection pressure on the mutating virus and increase the evolution of mutants towards emergence of antibody resistant strains.…”

“…17 The lower respiratory tract infection with SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV provoked various degrees of respiratory syndromes and extrarespiratory complications in humans. 21,34 According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistical report, 35 nearly 350 million COVID-19 infection cases have been reported on 24 January 2022. The number of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients and related death is constantly growing.…”