Platforms for Personalized Polytherapeutics Discovery in COVID-19

Engineered mRNA Delivery Systems for Biomedical Applications

Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutic strategies have shown remarkable promise in preventing and treating a staggering range of diseases. Optimizing the structure and delivery system of engineered mRNA has greatly improved its stability, immunogenicity, and protein expression levels, which has led to a wider range of uses for mRNA therapeutics. Herein, a thorough analysis of the optimization strategies used in the structure of mRNA is first provided and delivery systems are described in great detail. Furthermore, the latest advancements in biomedical engineering for mRNA technology, including its applications in combatting infectious diseases, treating cancer, providing protein replacement therapy, conducting gene editing, and more, are summarized. Lastly, a perspective on forthcoming challenges and prospects concerning the advancement of mRNA therapeutics is offered. Despite these challenges, mRNA-based therapeutics remain promising, with the potential to revolutionize disease treatment and contribute to significant advancements in the biomedical field.

Priority index for critical Covid-19 identifies clinically actionable targets and drugs

While genome-wide studies have identified genomic loci in hosts associated with life-threatening Covid-19 (critical Covid-19), the challenge of resolving these loci hinders further identification of clinically actionable targets and drugs. Building upon our previous success, we here present a priority index solution designed to address this challenge, generating the target and drug resource that consists of two indexes: the target index and the drug index. The primary purpose of the target index is to identify clinically actionable targets by prioritising genes associated with Covid-19. We illustrate the validity of the target index by demonstrating its ability to identify pre-existing Covid-19 phase-III drug targets, with the majority of these targets being found at the leading prioritisation (leading targets). These leading targets have their evolutionary origins in Amniota ('four-leg vertebrates') and are predominantly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions and JAK-STAT signaling. The drug index highlights opportunities for repurposing clinically approved JAK-STAT inhibitors, either individually or in combination. This proposed strategic focus on the JAK-STAT pathway is supported by the active pursuit of therapeutic agents targeting this pathway in ongoing phase-II/III clinical trials for Covid-19.

COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis: A Complex Relationship Possibly Aggravated by Low Vitamin D Levels

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an exceptionally transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that appeared at the end of 2019 and triggered a pandemic of acute respiratory disease, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 can evolve into a severe disease associated with immediate and delayed sequelae in different organs, including the central nervous system (CNS). A topic that deserves attention in this context is the complex relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we initially described the clinical and immunopathogenic characteristics of these two illnesses, accentuating the fact that COVID-19 can, in defined patients, reach the CNS, the target tissue of the MS autoimmune process. The well-known contribution of viral agents such as the Epstein-Barr virus and the postulated participation of SARS-CoV-2 as a risk factor for the triggering or worsening of MS are then described. We emphasize the contribution of vitamin D in this scenario, considering its relevance in the susceptibility, severity and control of both pathologies. Finally, we discuss the experimental animal models that could be explored to better understand the complex interplay of these two diseases, including the possible use of vitamin D as an adjunct immunomodulator to treat them.