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An Introduction to the Immune System and Vaccines
Published in Patricia G. Melloy, Viruses and Society, 2023
There are a few ways to test for a viral infection. Scientists have found that antibody-antigen reactions can work in vivo (in the body) or in vitro (in a test tube). The interaction itself may cause a precipitation or clumping of the reacting material out of solution, which can be picked up by several tests. Scientists often do a type of test known as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in which an antigen/antibody interaction can be quantified (Coico and Sunshine 2015). The test relies on a fluorescent tag on the antibody or an enzymatic reaction with a substrate that changes color to detect the antigen-antibody interaction. In an ELISA test, an interaction between an antigen (foreign material) and an antibody (protein made in response to a particular antigen) is detected using a plastic welled plate to perform the binding reactions. Plates can be examined by eye for a positive test or can be read in a machine to quantify the strength of the antigen-antibody interaction. Another more labor-intensive test, known as a western blot, involves separating proteins using agarose gel electrophoresis, transferring them to a membrane, and then probing for a particular antigen using an antibody (Coico and Sunshine 2015; Alberts et al. 2019). Antibody testing has become a powerful laboratory tool for the detection of viral infection.
Wonderful cures
Published in Brendan Curran, A Terrible Beauty is Born, 2020
On the face of it, the virus that causes AIDS in humans shares features common to lots of other less harmful viruses. Its devastating impact arises because of the particular type of cell that it hijacks in order to replicate. As patients recover from the ‘flu, their immune system can remove the virus and thus allow the body to regenerate the cells which have been destroyed. The AIDS virus, however, attacks one of the key cell types in the immune system and eventually wipes it out. Shorn of a working immune system, the victim usually succumbs not to the viral infection itself but to secondary infections which the body cannot fight in the normal way. It is the immune deficiency which is the most virulent aspect of the HIV infection and which gives this dreadful disease its acronym AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).
Kampo Medicine: A Different Model for Integrating Health Care Practices
Published in David R. Katerere, Wendy Applequist, Oluwaseyi M. Aboyade, Chamunorwa Togo, Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge for the Modern Era, 2019
The common cold is an easily spread infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract. The symptoms include cough, painful throat, rhinorrhea, and fever. Over 200 different viruses can cause the common cold. The symptoms come from the immune system’s response to the infection, not from direct destruction by the viruses themselves. There is no cure for the viral infection, but the symptoms can be treated.
Design and statistical optimisation of emulsomal nanoparticles for improved anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of N-(5-nitrothiazol-2-yl)-carboxamido candidates: in vitro and in silico studies
Published in Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 2023
Ahmed A. Al-Karmalawy, Dalia S. El-Gamil, Rabeh El-Shesheny, Marwa Sharaky, Radwan Alnajjar, Omnia Kutkat, Yassmin Moatasim, Mohamed Elagawany, Sara T. Al-Rashood, Faizah A. Binjubair, Wagdy M. Eldehna, Ayman M. Noreddin, Mohamed Y. Zakaria
Since its emergence in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic (caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has gained global attention due to its significant mortality and morbidity with over 661 million confirmed cases and almost 6.7 million deaths (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)1. In the initial stages of the viral infection, symptoms are commonly mild and include fever, myalgia, and dry cough. At more advanced stages of the disease, pulmonary symptoms such as dyspnoea and hypoxia develop2. Although the viral load usually subsides by that time, the condition of some patients worsens due to an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response (or a cytokine storm), resulting in long-term or life-threatening implications on lung tissues and other organs3.
Multivalent IgM scaffold enhances the therapeutic potential of variant-agnostic ACE2 decoys against SARS-CoV-2
Published in mAbs, 2023
Meghan M. Verstraete, Florian Heinkel, Janessa Li, Siran Cao, Anh Tran, Elizabeth C. Halverson, Robert Gene, Elizabeth Stangle, Begonia Silva-Moreno, Sifa Arrafi, Jegarubee Bavananthasivam, Madeline Fung, Mariam Eji-Lasisi, Stephanie Masterman, Steve Xanthoudakis, Surjit Dixit, John Babcook, Brandon Clavette, Mark Fogg, Eric Escobar-Cabrera
The rebound in virus replication might explain the lack of statistically different lung histopathology in hamsters treated with IgM ACE2. Virus rebound is an issue when insufficient drug is administered, and has been reported for antiretroviral therapies in HIV patients64 and Paxlovid in SARS-CoV-2 patients.65,66 This demonstrates the challenge to manage viral infection with a single, therapeutic dose administered after the infection is established in the patient. We hypothesize that additional doses of IgM ACE2 will further neutralize subsequent waves of progeny virion release and provide stronger protection. The data acquired in this in vivo study is rather consistent with efficacy data collected on IN delivery of the Regeneron cocktail, REGEN-COV, in a hamster model where prophylactic dosing of mAbs resulted in marked efficacy over isotype control compared to equivalent therapeutic dose post viral challenge.67 As viral replication and lung pathology change very rapidly in the hamster model, demonstrating therapeutic efficacy with a single treatment post-challenge represents a high bar.67 Future work to determine the optimal dosing regimen would be informative on the therapeutic benefit that can be achieved using IgM ACE2 decoy.
Neurological manifestations of COVID-19: a systematic review and detailed comprehension
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2023
Zeina Hassan Ousseiran, Youssef Fares, Wafaa Takash Chamoun
Our systematic review showed that SARS-CoV-2 can be manifested by a wide spectrum of neurological symptoms reported either in the early stage or within the course of the disease. These manifestations can be recovered rapidly within days or weeks while others can persist for a longer period after viral infection resolution. Some of these complications such as CVD, encephalopathy, encephalitis and GBS are associated with disease severity and longer hospital stay highlighting the importance of early monitoring of neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Despite the increasing number of papers assessing SARS-CoV-2-related neurological manifestations, more investigations are needed in many countries in order to identify the targets and to fully understand the impact of the virus on the nervous system. Finally, experimental studies are also required in order to determine the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms and the different mediators involved in the neuro-tropism pathways of SARS-CoV-2, facilitating thereby the development of therapeutic approaches to control this pandemic.