https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2022.11.024

Global emerging Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2: Impacts, challenges and strategies

1 Infectious Disease Unit, Specialty Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Director Research Center, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Al-Faisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection based on CT scan vs. RT-PCR: Reflecting on Experience from MERS-CoV

Background and purpose Although the COVID-19 vaccines are currently recommended for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), the fact that they were not specifically tested in people with MS raises uncertainty regarding their safety in this population. The purpose of this study was to report real-life safety data of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in a cohort of MS patients. Methods An anonymous survey was distributed to 425 MS patients. Participants were asked general demographic and disease-related questions and specific questions regarding the safety profile of the COVID-19 vaccine. Results Of the 425 MS patients, 262 completed the questionnaire. The median (range) participant age was 42 (22-79) years, 199 participants were women (75.9%), and 66 participants (25.2%) had associated comorbidities. A total of 198 participants (75.6%) were treated with disease-modifying therapies. In all, 239 participants (91.2% of the responders) had received the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 182 (76.1%) were aged 55 years. Adverse events were reported by 136 participants (56.9%; 52.5% of those aged 55 years; p = 0.1517) and 36 participants (15.1%) reported new or worsening neurological symptoms following the vaccination, the most frequent being sensory disturbances (21 participants, 58.3%). Most symptoms occurred within the first 24 h after vaccination and resolved within 3 days. A total of 28 participants (77.8%) did not require any medication to treat their symptoms. Conclusions This survey indicates an overall favorable safety profile of the BNT162b2 vaccine in people with MS. These data should be confirmed in further prospective, large-scale studies.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ene.15028

Safety of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in multiple sclerosis (MS): Early experience from a tertiary MS center in Israel.

Currently, a worldwide pandemic has been declared in response to the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a fatal and fast-spreading viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The low availability of efficient vaccines and treatment options has resulted in a high mortality rate, bringing the world economy to its knees. Thus, mechanistic investigations of drugs capable of counteracting this disease are in high demand. The main protease (Mpro) expressed by SARS-CoV-2 has been targeted for the development of potential drug candidates due to the crucial role played by Mpro in viral replication and transcription. We generated a phytochemical library containing 1672 phytochemicals derived from 56 plants, which have been reported as having antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activity. A molecular docking program was used to screen the top three candidate compounds: epicatechin-3-O-gallate, psi-taraxasterol, and catechin gallate, which had respective binding affinities of −8.4, −8.5, and −8.8 kcal/mol. Several active sites in the targeted protein, including Cys145, His41, Met49, Glu66, and Met165, were found to interact with the top three candidate compounds. The multiple simulation profile, root-mean-square deviation, root-mean-square fluctuation, radius of gyration, and solvent-accessible surface area values supported the inflexible nature of the docked protein–compound complexes. The toxicity and carcinogenicity profiles were assessed, which showed that epicatechin-3-O-gallate, psi-taraxasterol, and catechin gallate had favorable pharmacological properties with no adverse effects. These findings suggest that these compounds could be developed as part of an effective drug development pathway to treat COVID-19.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/7/589/pdf

Plant-Based Phytochemical Screening by Targeting Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 to Design Effective Potent Inhibitors

With the current outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2, vaccination is acclaimed as a public health priority. Rapid genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered the scientific community to search for effective vaccines. Collaborative approaches from research institutes and biotech companies have acknowledged the use of viral proteins as potential vaccine candidates against COVID-19. Nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) vaccines are considered the next generation vaccines as they can be rapidly designed to encode any desirable viral sequence including the highly conserved antigen sequences. RNA vaccines being less prone to host genome integration (cons of DNA vaccines) and anti-vector immunity (a compromising factor of viral vectors) offer a great potential as a front-runner for universal COVID-19 vaccine. The proof of concept for RNA-based vaccines has already been proven in humans, and the prospects for commercialization are very encouraging as well. With the emergence of COVID-19, mRNA-1273, a mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna, Inc. was the first to enter human trials, with the first volunteer receiving the dose within 10 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequencing. The recent interest in mRNA vaccines has been fueled by the state of the art technologies that enhance mRNA stability and improve vaccine delivery. Interestingly, as per the “Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines” published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 12th November, 2020, 6 potential RNA based COVID-19 vaccines are in different stages of clinical trials, of them, 2 are already in Phase III clinical trial. On the other hand, another 22 potential candidates are undergoing preclinical investigations. This review will shed light on the rationality of the RNA as a platform for vaccine development against COVID-19, highlighting the possible pros and cons, lessons learned from the past and the future prospects.

/pdf/perspectives-on-rna-vaccine-candidates-for-covid-19-4atmddwpgs.pdf

Perspectives on RNA Vaccine Candidates for COVID-19

Vaccines are proving to be highly effective in controlling hospitalization and deaths associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, as shown by clinical trials and real-world evidence. However, a deadly second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), infected by SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, with an increased number of post-vaccination breakthrough infections were reported in the world recently. Actually, Delta variant not only resulted in a severe surge of vaccine breakthrough infections which was accompanied with high viral load and transmissibility, but also challenged the development of effective vaccines. Therefore, the biological characteristics and epidemiological profile of Delta variant, the current status of Delta variant vaccine breakthrough infections and the mechanism of vaccine breakthrough infections were discussed in this article. In addition, the significant role of the Delta variant spike (S) protein in the mechanism of immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 was highlighted in this article. In particular, we further discussed key points on the future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research and development, hoping to make a contribution to the early, accurate and rapid control of the COVID-19 epidemic.

/pdf/a-systematic-review-of-vaccine-breakthrough-infections-by-3jspmt6k.pdf

A systematic review of Vaccine Breakthrough Infections by SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still spreading globally. The scientific community is attempting to procure an effective treatment and prevention strategy for COVID-19. A rising number of vaccines for COVID-19 are being developed at an unprecedented speed. Development platforms include traditional inactivated or live attenuated virus vaccines, DNA or RNA vaccines, recombinant viral vector vaccines, and protein or peptide subunit vaccines. There are 23 vaccines in the clinical evaluation stage and at least 140 candidate vaccines in preclinical evaluation. In this review, we describe research regarding basic knowledge on the virus, updates on the animal models, current landscape of vaccines in clinical evaluation and updated research results on vaccine development. Safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines require further investigation.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21645515.2020.1804777

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in rapid development.

An outbreak of COVID-19, caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China in December 2019, spread throughout the country and around the world, quickly. The primary detection technique for SARS-CoV-2, the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based approach, requires expensive reagents and equipment and skilled personnel. In addition, for SARS-CoV-2 detection, specimens are usually shipped to a designated laboratory for testing, which may extend the diagnosis and treatment time of patients with COVID-19. The latest research shows that clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based approaches can quickly provide visual, rapid, ultrasensitive, and specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 at isothermal conditions. Therefore, CRISPR-based approaches are expected to be developed as attractive alternatives to conventional RT-PCR methods for the efficient and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2. Recent advances in the field of CRISPR-based biosensing technologies for SARS-CoV-2 detection and insights into their potential use in many applications are reviewed in this article.

/pdf/crispr-based-approaches-for-efficient-and-accurate-detection-n5b7x6muo9.pdf

CRISPR-Based Approaches for Efficient and Accurate Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

All-in-one approaches for rapid and highly specific quantifcation of single nucleotide polymorphisms based on ligase detection reaction using molecular beacons as turn-on probes

Lifeng Li

Papers

A systematic review of Vaccine Breakthrough Infections by SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in rapid development.

CRISPR-Based Approaches for Efficient and Accurate Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

All-in-one approaches for rapid and highly specific quantifcation of single nucleotide polymorphisms based on ligase detection reaction using molecular beacons as turn-on probes

Recent advance of ACE2 and microbiota dysfunction in COVID-19 pathogenesis