MIV-150 and zinc acetate combination provides potent and broad activity against HIV-1

Potential health benefits of zinc supplementation for the management of COVID-19 pandemic

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The COVID-19 pandemic has created unimaginable and unprecedented global health crisis. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of dollars have been spent, hospitalization overstretched with increasing morbidity and mortality. All these have resulted in unprecedented global economic catastrophe. Several drugs and vaccines are currently being evaluated, tested, and administered in the frantic efforts to stem the dire consequences of COVID-19 with varying degrees of successes. Zinc possesses potential health benefits against COVID-19 pandemic by improving immune response, minimizing infection and inflammation, preventing lung injury, inhibiting viral replication through the interference of the viral genome transcription, protein translation, attachment, and host infectivity. However, this review focuses on the various mechanisms of action of zinc and its supplementation as adjuvant for vaccines an effective therapeutic regimen in the management of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), has brought unprecedented untold hardship to both developing and developed countries. The global race for vaccine development against COVID-19 continues with success in sight with attendant increasing hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. Available drugs with anti-inflammatory actions have become alternative to stem the tide of COVID-19 with attendant global financial crises. However, Zinc is known to modulate several physiological functions including intracellular signaling, enzyme function, gustation, and olfaction, as well as reproductive, skeletal, neuronal, and cardiovascular systems. Hence, achieving a significant therapeutic approach against COVID-19 could imply the use of zinc as a supplement together with available drugs and vaccines waiting for emergency authorization to win the battle of COVID-19. Together, it becomes innovative and creative to supplement zinc with currently available drugs and vaccines.

Clinical testing of antiretroviral drugs as future prevention against vaginal and rectal transmission of HIV infection - a review of currently available results

The original purpose of vaginally applied microbicides was to slow down the HIV epidemic among the population until an effective vaccination was developed. Nowadays, antiretrovirals applied in the form of gels or vaginal rings are considered most prominent in this field and are tested via vaginal or, rarely, rectal applications in numerous clinical studies (9 different antiretroviral drugs in 33 clinical studies, especially in Africa). Only tenofovir (1 % gel) and dapivirine (25 mg in vaginal ring) progressed into the phase III clinical testing. Their efficiency depended on the user´s strict adherence to the application regimen (for tenofovir 54 %, for dapivirine 61 % in participants over 25 years of age). Despite this, they are expected to be important and effective tools of preventive medicine in the near future. This review summarizes the results obtained during long-term clinical testing (2005-2018) of antiretroviral drugs against vaginal and rectal transmission of HIV infection.

The Role of Zinc in Antiviral Immunity

Zinc is an essential trace element that is crucial for growth, development, and the maintenance of immune function. Its influence reaches all organs and cell types, representing an integral component of approximately 10% of the human proteome, and encompassing hundreds of key enzymes and transcription factors. Zinc deficiency is strikingly common, affecting up to a quarter of the population in developing countries, but also affecting distinct populations in the developed world as a result of lifestyle, age, and disease-mediated factors. Consequently, zinc status is a critical factor that can influence antiviral immunity, particularly as zinc-deficient populations are often most at risk of acquiring viral infections such as HIV or hepatitis C virus. This review summarizes current basic science and clinical evidence examining zinc as a direct antiviral, as well as a stimulant of antiviral immunity. An abundance of evidence has accumulated over the past 50 y to demonstrate the antiviral activity of zinc against a variety of viruses, and via numerous mechanisms. The therapeutic use of zinc for viral infections such as herpes simplex virus and the common cold has stemmed from these findings; however, there remains much to be learned regarding the antiviral mechanisms and clinical benefit of zinc supplementation as a preventative and therapeutic treatment for viral infections.