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Topic Review
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Peer Reviewed Entry
Video Entry
Topic Review
Strategies to Mitigate Against Pathogenic Drug Resistant Fungi
Antifungal resistance, antifungal drug tolerance, and biofilm formation directly contribute to rising cases of fungal morbidity and mortality. As with all of the infectious diseases, prevention is the optimal way to mitigate disease outbreak and transmission. The application of effective disinfection and sterilization regimes, particularly in hospital settings, is vitally important, where a focus on fungal biofilm formation on indwelling medical devices is important. Preventing the growth of mycotoxin-producing fungi on foods through the performance of appropriate end-to-end processes is advisable, as mycotoxins are recalcitrant and challenging to eliminate once they have been formed. Adopting the OneHealth approach will support and enable solutions to address this complex societal challenge.
554
31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras-Based Antiviral Strategies
The PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTAC), a technology for targeted protein degradation, relies on using heterobifunctional molecules to recruit intracellular protein degradation machinery to the intracellular target protein of interest. This chemically-induced proximity between protein degradation machinery and the target POI results in polyubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of the target protein. Despite the field of PROTAC technology being relatively new, PROTACs have found wide applications not just as a technical tool but also as a therapeutic approach for infectious and non-infectious diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
554
10 May 2023
Topic Review
COVID-19 Pandemic Management of LMICs
The World Bank has historically classified countries according to their per capita gross national income (GNI) into three groups: high-income countries (or HICs), middle-income countries (or MICs), and low-income countries (or LICs). In 2020, LICs were 32, suffering high rates of illnesses and infections due to the lack of clean water, low sanitation levels, malnutrition, and the lack of access to quality medical care. Approximately 5 billion people lived in MICs, representing over 70% of the world population. There are a total of 105 MICs. Only 77 countries were classified by the World Bank as HICs. The management of the COVID-19 pandemic represents a challenging process, especially for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to the serious economic and health resource problems it generates.
552
10 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Nipah Virus Disease
Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a viral disease caused by a Henipavirus, belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family, responsible for a zoonosis. The course of the disease can be very serious and lead to death. NiV natural hosts are fruit bats (also known as megabats) belonging to the Pteropodidae family, especially those of the Pteropus genus. Natural infection in domestic animals has been described in farming pigs, horses, domestic and feral dogs and cats. Natural NiV transmission is possible intra-species (pig-to-pig, human-to-human) and inter-species (flying bat-to-human, pig-to-human, horse-to-human).
552
11 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Occult Infection with Hepatitis C Virus
Occult infection with hepatitis C virus (OCI) is defined as the presence of HCV-RNA in hepatocytes, and/or PBMCs in individuals, who are HCV-RNA negative in serum by conventional diagnostic tests (with LoD 15 IU/mL). Depending on the presence or absence of anti-HCV in serum, two types of OCI are distinguished—seronegative and seropositive. Occult viral persistence by definition escapes clinical diagnostic schemes and can last for many years after spontaneous or treatment-induced sustained virological response (SVR).
551
29 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy and Venous Thromboembolism in COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 infection, discovered and isolated in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, causes acute atypical respiratory symptoms and has led to profound changes in lives. COVID-19 is characterized by a wide range of complications, which include pulmonary embolism, thromboembolism and arterial clot formation, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, multiorgan failure, and more. The disease has caused a worldwide pandemic, and despite various measures such as social distancing, various preventive strategies, and therapeutic approaches, and the creation of vaccines, the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) still hides many mysteries for the scientific community.
551
11 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a widespread, tick-borne pathogen that causes Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) with high morbidity and mortality. CCHFV is transmitted to humans through tick bites or direct contact with patients or infected animals with viremia. Currently, climate change and globalization have increased the transmission risk of this biosafety level (BSL)-4 virus.
548
04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Biomolecules and Skin Infectious Diseases
Skin infections are amongst the most common infectious diseases, ranked as the fourth leading cause of human illnesses. Both bacteria and viruses are responsible for many serious, difficult to treat skin conditions. Fungi are also highly prevalent in skin diseases. Skin infections present considerable threats to a person’s health, psychological wellbeing, capacity to operate, and social involvement.
548
04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Whole-Person Approach to Urinary Tract Infection
Urobiome dysbiosis, defined as an imbalance in the microbial composition in the microenvironments along the urinary tract, is found in women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI). Historically, antibiotics have been used to address UTI. An alternative approach to uncomplicated UTI is warranted as the current paradigm fails to take urobiome dysbiosis into account and contributes to the communal problem of resistance. A whole-person, multi-modal approach that addresses vaginal and urinary tract dysbiosis may be more effective in reducing recurrent UTI.
548
18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
The Blessed Union of Glycobiology and Immunology
The fields of cancer glycobiology and glycobiology of infectious diseases provide crucial information concerning the cell surface glycoconjugates, as they play an important role in immunosurveillance during the development and establishment of certain pathologies. Furthermore, screening for atypical glycophenotypes culminates in the construction and modulation of an innate and adaptive immune response, mainly because glycans are biological structures that are very well conserved by evolution and are naturally heterogeneous, and end up acting as carriers of biological information that are decoded by families of proteins known as lectins. The effects of the structural recognition of glycans by these receptors, present mainly in cells of the immune system, are paramount in defining the immune responses. Therefore, those receptors are subjected to subversion of the host response against certain pathologies, being involved in the persistence of infections and tumors resistant to chemotherapy and increased metastatic potential.
548
07 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Antifungal Drug Resistance
Fungal infections, named mycosis, can cause severe invasive and systemic diseases that can even lead to death. In recent years, epidemiological data have recorded an increase in cases of severe fungal infections, caused mainly by a growing number of immunocompromised patients and the emergence of fungal pathogenic forms that are increasingly resistant to antimycotic drug treatments.
547
13 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Biomarkers for a COVID-19 Electrical Biosensing Platform
The race towards the development of user-friendly, portable, fast-detection, and low-cost devices for healthcare systems has become the focus of effective screening efforts since the pandemic attack in December 2019, which is known as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Currently existing techniques such as RT-PCR, antigen–antibody-based detection, and CT scans are prompt solutions for diagnosing infected patients. However, the limitations of currently available indicators have enticed researchers to search for adjunct or additional solutions for COVID-19 diagnosis. Meanwhile, identifying biomarkers or indicators is necessary for understanding the severity of the disease and aids in developing efficient drugs and vaccines. Therefore, clinical studies on infected patients revealed that infection-mediated clinical biomarkers, especially pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins, are highly associated with COVID-19. These biomarkers are undermined or overlooked in the context of diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of infected patients.
544
08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-like Proteins in T-Lymphocytes
Ubiquitination is a posttranslational modification that is involved in almost every cellular process. The most prominent function is the targeting of protein substrates for their degradation by the proteasome to maintain cellular protein homeostasis. Moreover, ubiquitination can serve many nonproteolytic functions like the regulation of protein kinase signaling, DNA damage response, intracellular trafficking, and transcription and translation. Ubiquitination is mediated by the transfer of the highly conserved 76 amino -acid protein ubiquitin to a target protein. Since T cells play a central role in the immune system and are indispensable for maintaining the adaptive cell mediated immunity, T cell signaling, and activation have to be tightly controlled. Like phosphorylation, ubiquitination is a reversible and highly dynamic process and critical for normal T cell function. In this regard, modification of T cell signaling proteins by ubiquitin or ubiquitin-related proteins is responsible not only for the initiation of T cell signaling but also for the termination of T cell activity.
544
15 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Fragment-Based Drug Discovery against Mycobacteria
The emergence of drug-resistant mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), poses an increasing global threat that urgently demands the development of new potent anti-mycobacterial drugs. One of the approaches toward the identification of new drugs is fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD), which is the most ingenious among other drug discovery models, such as structure-based drug design (SBDD) and high-throughput screening. Specialized techniques, such as X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and many others, are part of the drug discovery approach to combat the Mtb and NTM global menaces.
542
23 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Mechanism of Action of Curcumin
Curcumin, one of the major ingredients of turmeric (Curcuma longa), has been widely reported for its diverse bioactivities, including against malaria and inflammatory-related diseases. Curcumin’s low bioavailability limits its potential as an antimalarial and anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, research on the design and synthesis of novel curcumin derivatives is being actively pursued to improve the pharmacokinetic profile and efficacy of curcumin.
542
05 May 2023
Topic Review
Antibody-Mediated Alphavirus Immunity
Alphaviruses are mosquito-borne pathogens distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate areas causing a wide range of symptoms ranging from inflammatory arthritis-like manifestations to the induction of encephalitis in humans. Historically, large outbreaks in susceptible populations have been recorded followed by the development of protective long-lasting antibody responses suggesting a potential advantageous role for a vaccine.
541
04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Zika Virus Epidemiology
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a Flavivirus and was first isolated in a sentinel monkey kept for studying mosquito-borne diseases, and was also later isolated from Aedes africanus mosquitoes, confirming its vector-borne transmission, in the Ziika forest of Uganda.
541
09 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Cytomegalovirus, HIV and Humans
In stark contrast to the rapid development of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine is still lacking. Furthermore, despite virologic suppression and CD4 T-cell count normalization with antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV (PLWH) still exhibit increased morbidity and mortality compared to the general population. Such differences in health outcomes are related to higher risk behaviors, but also to HIV-related immune activation and viral coinfections. Among these coinfections, cytomegalovirus (CMV) latent infection is a well-known inducer of long-term immune dysregulation. Cytomegalovirus contributes to the persistent immune activation in PLWH receiving ART by directly skewing immune response toward itself, and by increasing immune activation through modification of the gut microbiota and microbial translocation. In addition, through induction of immunosenescence, CMV has been associated with a decreased response to infections and vaccines.
540
05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Nanostructures and Combating Oral Bacterial Diseases
The oral cavity is an ideal environment for microbial cell growth, survival, and stability, followed by oral biofilm formation on the tooth surface. Biofilms contain a set of bacteria that are produced in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Bacterial growth results in the conversion of bacterial biofilm from commensal plaque to a pathogenic form. Bacteria present in the biofilm are significantly less sensitive to antimicrobial agents than planktonic bacteri.
540
23 Nov 2021
Topic Review
SPR Biosensing of SARS-CoV-2 Entry Inhibitors
This work compiles recent advancements on the discovery of SARS-CoV2 inhibitors by SPR analysis. One of the major benefits of SPR biosensing is the possibility of easily investigating molecular interactions. Owing to this quality, SPR biosensor technology has become a first-line tool for analyzing the binding properties of potential drug candidates against COVID-19. Overall, SPR biosensors seem to offer a single methodology for attaining full kinetic profiles while providing the screening of fragment libraries and the validation of fragment hits.
540
06 Dec 2021
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