Belarusian State Medical University

About: Belarusian State Medical University is a education organization based out in Minsk, Belarus. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 536 authors who have published 513 publications receiving 4635 citations.

Development of ELISA test kits for semi-quantitative detection of anti-HEV antibodies in pigs in the Republic of Belarus

Abstract: Viral hepatitis E infection affects up to 80-100 % of domestic pigs worldwide and is characterized by high seroprevalence among domestic pigs in temperate climate countries. Epizootic monitoring of HEV infection is insufficient in the Republic of Belarus due to lack of the required number of available and inexpensive diagnostic ELISA kits with good sensitivity and specificity. In this regard, research on development of domestic ELISA kit for semi-quantitative detection of antibodies to hepatitis E virus in pigs with subsequent assessment of seroprevalence to HEV in pig population in the Republic of Belarus is relevant. The results of studies on development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit for semi-quantitative determination of class G immunoglobulins to HEV in pig blood serum using recombinant proteins, including immunodominant amino acid sequences corresponding to the ORF2 and ORF3 proteins of HEV genotype 3 are presented in the paper. The optimal concentration for sorption of ORF2 and ORF3 proteins has been determined, which is 2 μg/ml and 1 μg/ml, respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity of this test kit makes 94.8 %, and the diagnostic specificity makes 100 %. Coefficients of variation being the criterion for assessing the intra-serial and inter-serial reproducibility of this test kit, make 3.5 % and 12.4 %, respectively, which allows to obtain reproducible results and identify specific anti-HEV antibodies in all positive samples of pig blood serum. When studying 1235 pig sera samples from various pig farms of Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions, seroprevalence of anti-HEV antibodies has been determined in 168 or 13.6 % of animals. The described diagnostic method can be widely used in science and practice for the further study of seroprevalence of anti-HEV. Acknowledgments. The research was carried out as part of the Interstate program of innovation cooperation of States - participants of the CIS up to 2020, with the financial support of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation, the project ID RFMEFI61316X0 061, and the State Committee for Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus.

Lipid and carbohydrate metabolites changes in exhaled breath condensate and blood in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract: Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) reflects the polyfunctionality of the lungs, the intensity and shifts of metabolic reactions. The aim was to investigate the changes of some lipid and carbohydrate intermediate metabolites as well enzymes as both in EBC and blood in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods: EBC was collected from in-patients with CB (n=12) and mild-moderate-severe COPD (COPD1-2,3 — respectively) (n=49). We detected both in EBC and blood: total lipids (TL), phospholipids (TPhL) and cholesterol (TCL); free cholesterol (FCL) and etheric cholesterol (ECL), triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), NH3, lactic acid (LA); activity of pyruvate kinase (PK) and adenylate kinase (AK), pyruvic (PvA), succinic (ScA) and oxaloacetic acids (OaA) as well as EBC surfaceactive properties (SAP). Results. Exhaled TL (eTL) were increased in CB, COPD1,2 vs. the control and then were decreased in COPD3 up to the control value. eTG were increased in COPD2,3 by 18% vs. the control while eFFA were reduced in COPD1,2,3 by 19% vs. the control. eTPhL were significantly enhanced in all groups without difference between them. SAP was significantly decreased in CB, COPD1,2 but more in COPD3 (by 50% vs. the control). NH3 level was significantly elevated both in EBC and blood vs. the control, but without difference between the groups. ScA in COPD1,2 both in EBC and blood exceeded the control more than 5 times while AK activity in EBC and blood was significantly reduced (by 1,3 times) in mixed COPD1,2 group. Conclusions: The changes of these metabolites and enzymes occurred more in EBC and less in blood plus did not correlate with COPD severity (excluding SAP).

Pos0624 efficacy and safety of levilimab in combination with methotrexate in subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis: phase iii, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial

Abstract: Background: Previously, the results of phase II AURORA clinical study of levilimab in subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been reported1. Here we report topline 24-weeks results of preliminary primary efficacy and safety analysis of phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical study (SOLAR). Objectives: To confirm that levilimab in combination with methotrexate is superior to placebo in combination with methotrexate in achieving ACR20 at week 12 and low disease activity (LDA) at week 24 in subjects with methotrexate (MTX) resistant active RA. Methods: The study is ongoing at 21 clinical sites in Russia and Belarus. All randomized subjects have completed 24 weeks of study between November 2019 and January 2021. 154 adults, aged ≥18 years with the diagnosis of RA (ACR 2010) for at least 24 weeks, and confirmed disease activity at screening despite treatment with MTX for the last 12 weeks (in a stable dose 15-25 mg/week, for at least 4 weeks) were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either levilimab (162 mg, SC, QW) + MTX (n=102) or placebo + MTX (n=52). The randomization and treatment allocation were carried out by a central computer-based system. Subjects, caregivers, and those assessing the outcomes were blinded to group assignment. The hypothesis of superiority of levilimab over placebo was tested for two co-primary efficacy outcomes: proportion of subjects who achieved ACR20 at week 12 and proportion of subjects who achieved LDA of RA (DAS28-CRP For ethical reasons, subjects who haven’t achieved minimal clinical response at week 12 (≥20% reduction in the number of tender/swollen joints; 66/68) received rescue therapy at the discretion of the Investigator, and all subsequent efficacy assessments for those were considered missing. For the primary efficacy analysis, subjects with missing data due to study discontinuation or rescue therapy prescription were considered non-responders (non-responder imputation, NRI). Otherwise, the analysis was performed on observed cases. Safety was assessed through monitoring of adverse events (AEs). Results: The primary analysis was based on 149 randomized subjects (n=99 and n = 50) for ACR20 and 154 randomized subjects (n= 102 and n = 52) for LDA. 70/99 (71%) of subjects who received levilimab and 20/50 (40%) who received placebo achieved ACR20 response at week 12. The difference in proportion was 30% with a lower bound of 97.5% CI 12.8%; p=0.0003 (Pearson’s chi-squared test). 53/102 (52%) of subjects received levilimab and 3/52 (6%) received placebo achieved LDA at week 24. The difference in proportion was 46% with a lower bound of 97.5% CI 31.2 %; p The safety population included all subjects, who received investigational product (n=154). The most common adverse events (reported in ≥5% of subjects) in levilimab and placebo arms, respectively were: blood cholesterol increase (19% vs. 10%), ALT increase (11% vs. 8%), lymphocyte count decrease (9% vs. 8%), blood bilirubin increase (11% vs. 0%), blood triglycerides increase (9% vs. 2%), AST increase (7% vs. 4%), IGRA with M.tuberculosis antigen positive (5% vs. 6%), ANC decrease (8% vs. 0%). No deaths were occurred. Conclusion: The study confirmed superior efficacy of levilimab + MTX over placebo + MTX in subjects with MTX resistant active RA. No new safety signals were detected. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04397562 References: [1]Mazurov V, Zotkin E, Ilivanova E, et al. FRI0114 EFFICACY OF LEVILIMAB, NOVEL MONOCLONAL ANTI-IL-6 RECEPTOR ANTIBODY, IN COMBINATION WITH METHOTREXATE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: 1-YEAR RESULTS OF PHASE 2 AURORA STUDY. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2020;79:637-638. Acknowledgements: We thank all contributors to the SOLAR clinical trial Disclosure of Interests: V Mazurov: None declared, Maxim Korolev: None declared, Alena Kundzer: None declared, Nikolaj Soroka: None declared, Aleksander Kastanayan: None declared, Tatyana Povarova: None declared, Tatyana Plaksina: None declared, Olga Antipova: None declared, Diana Kretchikova: None declared, Svetlana Smakotina: None declared, Oksana Tciupa: None declared, Tatiana Raskina: None declared, Tatyana Kropotina: None declared, Olga Nesmeyanova: None declared, Tatiana Popova: None declared, Ekaterina Dokukina Employee of: JSC BIOCAD, Aleksandra Plotnikova Employee of: JSC BIOCAD, Anton Lutskii Employee of: JSC BIOCAD, Arina Zinkina-Orihan Employee of: JSC BIOCAD

The characteristics of HIV-positive patients with mild/asymptomatic and moderate/severe course of COVID-19 disease. A report from Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract: Background There is currently no evidence suggesting that COVID-19 takes a different course in HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral treatment compared to the general population. However, little is known about the relation between specific HIV-related factors and the severity of the COVID-19 disease. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of cases collected through an on-line survey distributed by the Euroguidelines in Central and Eastern Europe Network Group. In statistical analyses characteristics of HIV-positive patients asymptomatic/moderate and moderate/severe course were compared. Results In total 34 HIV-positive patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were reported by 12 countries (Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Albania, Belarus, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria). Asymptomatic courses of COVID-19 were reported in four (12%) cases, 11 (32%) patients presented with mild disease not requiring hospitalization, moderate disease with respiratory and/or systemic symptoms was observed in 14 (41%) cases, and severe disease with respiratory failure was found in five (15%) patients. The only HIV-related characteristics differentiating a moderate/severe course of the disease from asymptomatic/mild disease course was the use of or PI or NNRTI as part of the cART regimen (40.0% vs. 5.3%, p=0.0129 for PI and 31.6 % vs. 0.0%, p= 0.0239 for NNRTI). Conclusions In our analyses HIV viral suppression and immunological status were not playing a role in the course of COVID-19 disease. On the contrary the cART regimen could contribute to severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Large and prospective studies are necessary to further investigate this relations.

[Correction of the oxidant-antioxidant balance in lungs during hyperoxia by liposomal alpha-tocopherol and retinoids in the experiment].

Abstract: The influence of inhaled liposomes, containing dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine and a-tocopherol, and liposomes containing dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, retinol and retinoic acid, on parameters of the oxidantantioxidant system in lungs of newborn guinea pigs exposed to hyperoxia during 3 and 14 days has been studied. Administration of both types of liposomes under conditions of prolonged hyperoxia (14 days) results in normalization of glutathione peroxidase activity and prevents elevation of the levels of lipid and protein peroxidation products in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Unlike liposomes with a-tocopherol, administration of liposomes containing retinoids did not cause the normalizing effect on the content of nonprotein SH-compounds in the bronchoalveolar fluid and contributed to significant reduction of the a-tocopherol level in lung tissues.