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Zhang X, Wu J, Luo Y, Wang Y, Wu Y, Xu X, Zhang Y, Kong R, Chi Y, Sun Y, Chen S, He Q, Zhu F, Zhou Z. CovEpiAb: a comprehensive database and analysis resource for immune epitopes and antibodies of human coronaviruses. Brief Bioinform 2024; 25:bbae183. [PMID: 38653491 PMCID: PMC11036340 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbae183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Coronaviruses have threatened humans repeatedly, especially COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has posed a substantial threat to global public health. SARS-CoV-2 continuously evolves through random mutation, resulting in a significant decrease in the efficacy of existing vaccines and neutralizing antibody drugs. It is critical to assess immune escape caused by viral mutations and develop broad-spectrum vaccines and neutralizing antibodies targeting conserved epitopes. Thus, we constructed CovEpiAb, a comprehensive database and analysis resource of human coronavirus (HCoVs) immune epitopes and antibodies. CovEpiAb contains information on over 60 000 experimentally validated epitopes and over 12 000 antibodies for HCoVs and SARS-CoV-2 variants. The database is unique in (1) classifying and annotating cross-reactive epitopes from different viruses and variants; (2) providing molecular and experimental interaction profiles of antibodies, including structure-based binding sites and around 70 000 data on binding affinity and neutralizing activity; (3) providing virological characteristics of current and past circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and in vitro activity of various therapeutics; and (4) offering site-level annotations of key functional features, including antibody binding, immunological epitopes, SARS-CoV-2 mutations and conservation across HCoVs. In addition, we developed an integrated pipeline for epitope prediction named COVEP, which is available from the webpage of CovEpiAb. CovEpiAb is freely accessible at https://pgx.zju.edu.cn/covepiab/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - JingCheng Wu
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yuanyuan Luo
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yilin Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yujie Wu
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xiaobin Xu
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yufang Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ruiying Kong
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ying Chi
- Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou 310058, China
- ZJU-UoE Institute, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China
| | - Yisheng Sun
- Key Lab of Vaccine, Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310015, China
| | - Shuqing Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qiaojun He
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang University Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Engineering Research Center of Innovative Anticancer Drugs, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang University Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Engineering Research Center of Innovative Anticancer Drugs, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhan Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Anti-Cancer Drug Research, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang University Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Engineering Research Center of Innovative Anticancer Drugs, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou 310058, China
- The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, China
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Tan M, Xia J, Luo H, Meng G, Zhu Z. Applying the digital data and the bioinformatics tools in SARS-CoV-2 research. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:4697-4705. [PMID: 37841328 PMCID: PMC10568291 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.09.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Bioinformatics has been playing a crucial role in the scientific progress to fight against the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The advances in novel algorithms, mega data technology, artificial intelligence and deep learning assisted the development of novel bioinformatics tools to analyze daily increasing SARS-CoV-2 data in the past years. These tools were applied in genomic analyses, evolutionary tracking, epidemiological analyses, protein structure interpretation, studies in virus-host interaction and clinical performance. To promote the in-silico analysis in the future, we conducted a review which summarized the databases, web services and software applied in SARS-CoV-2 research. Those digital resources applied in SARS-CoV-2 research may also potentially contribute to the research in other coronavirus and non-coronavirus viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Tan
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiaxin Xia
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Haitao Luo
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Geng Meng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenglin Zhu
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
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3
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Elkashlan M, Ahmad RM, Hajar M, Al Jasmi F, Corchado JM, Nasarudin NA, Mohamad MS. A review of SARS-CoV-2 drug repurposing: databases and machine learning models. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1182465. [PMID: 37601065 PMCID: PMC10436567 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1182465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) posed a serious worldwide threat and emphasized the urgency to find efficient solutions to combat the spread of the virus. Drug repurposing has attracted more attention than traditional approaches due to its potential for a time- and cost-effective discovery of new applications for the existing FDA-approved drugs. Given the reported success of machine learning (ML) in virtual drug screening, it is warranted as a promising approach to identify potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. The implementation of ML in drug repurposing requires the presence of reliable digital databases for the extraction of the data of interest. Numerous databases archive research data from studies so that it can be used for different purposes. This article reviews two aspects: the frequently used databases in ML-based drug repurposing studies for SARS-CoV-2, and the recent ML models that have been developed for the prospective prediction of potential inhibitors against the new virus. Both types of ML models, Deep Learning models and conventional ML models, are reviewed in terms of introduction, methodology, and its recent applications in the prospective predictions of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. Furthermore, the features and limitations of the databases are provided to guide researchers in choosing suitable databases according to their research interests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marim Elkashlan
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rahaf M Ahmad
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Malak Hajar
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Fatma Al Jasmi
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
- Division of Metabolic Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Juan Manuel Corchado
- Departamento de Informática y Automática, Facultad de Ciencias, Grupo de Investigación BISITE, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Nurul Athirah Nasarudin
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohd Saberi Mohamad
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
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4
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Sharma S, Sharma A, Bhattacharyya D, Chauhan RS. Computational identification of potential inhibitory compounds in Indian medicinal and aromatic plant species against major pathogenicity determinants of SARS-CoV-2. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:14096-14114. [PMID: 34766880 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.2000500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viral pandemic has been reported across 223 countries and territories. Globalized vaccination programs alongside administration of repurposed drugs will assumingly confer a stronger and longer individual specific immune protection. However, considering possible recurrence of the disease via new variants, a conveniently deliverable phytopharmaceutical drug might be the best option for COVID-19 treatment. In the current study, the efforts have been made to identify potential leads for inhalation therapy as nasal swabs have been reported to transfer viral load prominently. In that direction, 2363 Essential oil (EOs) compounds from Indian medicinal and aromatic plants were screened through docking analysis and potential candidates were shortlisted that can interfere with viral pathogenicity. The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 interacted closely with jatamansin (JM), 6,7-dehydroferruginol (FG) and beta-sitosterol (BS), while Papain-like Protease (PLpro) with friedelane-3-one (F3O) and lantadene D (LD) independently. Reduced Lantadene A (LAR) exhibited preferable interaction with RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) whereas Lantadene A (LA) with RdRp and spike-glycoprotein (SG-pro) both target proteins. When compared against highest binding affinity conformations of well-known inhibitors of targets, these prioritized compounds conferred superior or comparable SARS-CoV-2 protein inhibition. Additionally, promising results were noted from pharmacokinetics prediction for all shortlisted compounds. Besides, molecular dynamics simulation for 100 ns in two replicates and binding free energy analysis revealed the stability of complexes with optimum compactness. To the best of our knowledge, the current investigation is a unique initial attempt whereby EO compounds have been computationally screened, irrespective of their known medicinal properties to fight COVID-19 infection.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilpa Sharma
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ashish Sharma
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Dipto Bhattacharyya
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Rajinder S Chauhan
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, India
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5
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Old drugs, new tricks: leveraging known compounds to disrupt coronavirus-induced cytokine storm. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2022; 8:38. [PMID: 36216820 PMCID: PMC9549818 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-022-00250-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A major complication in COVID-19 infection consists in the onset of acute respiratory distress fueled by a dysregulation of the host immune network that leads to a run-away cytokine storm. Here, we present an in silico approach that captures the host immune system’s complex regulatory dynamics, allowing us to identify and rank candidate drugs and drug pairs that engage with minimal subsets of immune mediators such that their downstream interactions effectively disrupt the signaling cascades driving cytokine storm. Drug–target regulatory interactions are extracted from peer-reviewed literature using automated text-mining for over 5000 compounds associated with COVID-induced cytokine storm and elements of the underlying biology. The targets and mode of action of each compound, as well as combinations of compounds, were scored against their functional alignment with sets of competing model-predicted optimal intervention strategies, as well as the availability of like-acting compounds and known off-target effects. Top-ranking individual compounds identified included a number of known immune suppressors such as calcineurin and mTOR inhibitors as well as compounds less frequently associated for their immune-modulatory effects, including antimicrobials, statins, and cholinergic agonists. Pairwise combinations of drugs targeting distinct biological pathways tended to perform significantly better than single drugs with dexamethasone emerging as a frequent high-ranking companion. While these predicted drug combinations aim to disrupt COVID-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome, the approach itself can be applied more broadly to other diseases and may provide a standard tool for drug discovery initiatives in evaluating alternative targets and repurposing approved drugs.
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COVID-19-Related Scientific Literature Exploration: Short Survey and Comparative Study. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11081221. [PMID: 36009848 PMCID: PMC9404775 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The COVID-19-related literature has known a surge since the beginning of the pandemic. This surge prompted the creation of multiple literature exploration systems to help automate the exploration of scientific articles. In this work, we survey multiple COVID-19 literature exploration systems by exploring their most discriminative characteristics, give general design principles for these systems, and describe some of their limitations. Abstract The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in the related scientific literature. This surge made the manual exploration of scientific articles time-consuming and inefficient. Therefore, a range of exploratory search applications have been created to facilitate access to the available literature. In this survey, we give a short description of certain efforts in this direction and explore the different approaches that they used.
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Magen E, Mukherjee S, Bhattacharya M, Detroja R, Merzon E, Blum I, Livoff A, Shlapobersky M, Baum G, Talisman R, Cherniavsky E, Dori A, Frenkel-Morgenstern M. Clinical and Molecular Characterization of a Rare Case of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine-Associated Myositis. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10071135. [PMID: 35891299 PMCID: PMC9324661 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Initial clinical trials and surveillance data have shown that the most commonly administered BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is effective and safe. However, several cases of mRNA vaccine-induced mild to moderate adverse events were recently reported. Here, we report a rare case of myositis after injection of the first dose of BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine into the left deltoid muscle of a 34-year-old, previously healthy woman who presented progressive proximal muscle weakness, progressive dysphagia, and dyspnea with respiratory failure. One month after vaccination, BNT162b2 vaccine mRNA expression was detected in a tissue biopsy of the right deltoid and quadriceps muscles. We propose this case as a rare example of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-induced myositis. This study comprehensively characterizes the clinical and molecular features of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-associated myositis in which the patient was severely affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Magen
- Medicine C Department, Clinical Immunology and Allergy Division, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel;
- Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv 6473817, Israel;
- Correspondence: (E.M.); (M.F.-M.)
| | - Sumit Mukherjee
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (S.M.); (M.B.); (R.D.); (G.B.)
- Department of Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel
| | - Mahua Bhattacharya
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (S.M.); (M.B.); (R.D.); (G.B.)
| | - Rajesh Detroja
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (S.M.); (M.B.); (R.D.); (G.B.)
| | - Eugene Merzon
- Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv 6473817, Israel;
- Department of Family Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Idan Blum
- Medicine C Department, Clinical Immunology and Allergy Division, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel;
| | - Alejandro Livoff
- Pathology Department, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel; (A.L.); (M.S.)
| | - Mark Shlapobersky
- Pathology Department, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel; (A.L.); (M.S.)
| | - Gideon Baum
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (S.M.); (M.B.); (R.D.); (G.B.)
| | - Ran Talisman
- Plastic Surgery Department, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel;
| | - Evgenia Cherniavsky
- Imaging Department, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ashkelon 7830604, Israel;
| | - Amir Dori
- Department of Neurology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel;
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (S.M.); (M.B.); (R.D.); (G.B.)
- Correspondence: (E.M.); (M.F.-M.)
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Current Therapeutics for COVID-19, What We Know about the Molecular Mechanism and Efficacy of Treatments for This Novel Virus. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23147702. [PMID: 35887042 PMCID: PMC9319826 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23147702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Though previous coronaviruses have caused substantial epidemics in recent years, effective therapies remained limited at the start of the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The emergence and rapid spread throughout the globe of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus necessitated a rapid development of therapeutics. Given the multitude of therapies that have emerged over the last two years and the evolution of data surrounding the efficacy of these therapies, we aim to provide an update on the major clinical trials that influenced clinical utilization of various COVID-19 therapeutics. This review focuses on currently used therapies in the United States and discusses the molecular mechanisms by which these therapies target the SARS-CoV-2 virus or the COVID-19 disease process. PubMed and EMBASE were used to find trials assessing the efficacy of various COVID-19 therapies. The keywords SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, and the names of the various therapies included in this review were searched in different combinations to find large-scale randomized controlled trials performed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple therapeutic options are currently approved for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and prevention of severe disease in high-risk individuals in both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. In severe disease, a combination of antiviral and immunomodulatory treatments is currently recommended for treatment. Additionally, anti-viral agents have shown promise in preventing severe disease and hospitalization for those in the outpatient setting. More recently, current therapeutic approaches are directed toward early treatment with monoclonal antibodies directed against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite this, no treatment to date serves as a definitive cure and vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus remain our best defense to prevent further morbidity and mortality.
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Wotring JW, Fursmidt R, Ward L, Sexton JZ. Evaluating the in vitro efficacy of bovine lactoferrin products against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. J Dairy Sci 2022; 105:2791-2802. [PMID: 35221061 PMCID: PMC8872794 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2021-21247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Bovine lactoferrin (bLF), a naturally occurring glycoprotein found in milk, has bioactive characteristics against many microbes, viruses, and other pathogens. Bovine lactoferrin strongly inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro through direct entry inhibition and immunomodulatory mechanisms. This study reports on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 efficacy of commercially available bLF and common dairy ingredients in the human lung cell line H1437 using a custom high-content imaging and analysis pipeline. We also show for the first time that bLF has potent efficacy across different viral strains including the South African B.1.351, UK B.1.1.7, Brazilian P.1, and Indian Delta variants. Interestingly, we show that bLF is most potent against the B.1.1.7 variant [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 3.7 µg/mL], suggesting that this strain relies on entry mechanisms that are strongly inhibited by bLF. We also show that one of the major proteolysis products of bLF, lactoferricin B 17-41, has a modest anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity that could add to the clinical significance of this protein for SARS-CoV-2 treatment as lactoferricin is released by pepsin during digestion. Finally, we show that custom chewable lactoferrin tablets formulated in dextrose or sorbitol have equivalent potency to unformulated samples and provide an option for future human clinical trials. Lactoferrin's broad inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 variants in conjunction with the low cost and ease of production make this an exciting clinical candidate for treatment or prevention of SARS-CoV-2 in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse W. Wotring
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109
| | - Reid Fursmidt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109
| | - Loren Ward
- Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Falls, ID 83301
| | - Jonathan Z. Sexton
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109,Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109,UM Center for Drug Repurposing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109,Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109,Corresponding author
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COVID-19 Drug Repurposing: A Network-Based Framework for Exploring Biomedical Literature and Clinical Trials for Possible Treatments. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14030567. [PMID: 35335943 PMCID: PMC8955179 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14030567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: With the Coronavirus becoming a new reality of our world, global efforts continue to seek answers to many questions regarding the spread, variants, vaccinations, and medications. Particularly, with the emergence of several strains (e.g., Delta, Omicron), vaccines will need further development to offer complete protection against the new variants. It is critical to identify antiviral treatments while the development of vaccines continues. In this regard, the repurposing of already FDA-approved drugs remains a major effort. In this paper, we investigate the hypothesis that a combination of FDA-approved drugs may be considered as a candidate for COVID-19 treatment if (1) there exists an evidence in the COVID-19 biomedical literature that suggests such a combination, and (2) there is match in the clinical trials space that validates this drug combination. Methods: We present a computational framework that is designed for detecting drug combinations, using the following components (a) a Text-mining module: to extract drug names from the abstract section of the biomedical publications and the intervention/treatment sections of clinical trial records. (b) a network model constructed from the drug names and their associations, (c) a clique similarity algorithm to identify candidate drug treatments. Result and Conclusions: Our framework has identified treatments in the form of two, three, or four drug combinations (e.g., hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline, and azithromycin). The identifications of the various treatment candidates provided sufficient evidence that supports the trustworthiness of our hypothesis.
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11
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Mukherjee SB, Gorohovski A, Merzon E, Levy E, Mukherjee S, Frenkel‐Morgenstern M. Seasonal UV exposure and vitamin D: association with the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission in Europe. FEBS Open Bio 2022; 12:106-117. [PMID: 34608759 PMCID: PMC8653358 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Several recent studies have demonstrated that low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D levels are associated with the risk of COVID-19 infection. The primary source of vitamin D production in humans is environmental UV radiation. In many viral respiratory diseases, peak infection rates are observed during winter due to reduced UV exposure and low temperatures. In Europe, the second wave of COVID-19 began early in the winter of 2020. Investigating the impact of seasonal temperature and UV exposure on COVID-19 transmission could thus aid in prevention and intervention. As such, we first performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of all related published literature based on the association between vitamin D and COVID-19, which supported the hypothesis that the low vitamin D level is a critical risk factor for COVID-19 infection. Next, to understand the potential impact of seasonal UV and temperature levels on COVID-19 cases, we analyzed meteorological data and daily COVID-19 cases per million in the populations of 26 European countries. We observed that low temperature, UV index, and cloud-free vitamin D UV dose (UVDVF) levels are negatively correlated with COVID-19 prevalence in Europe. Furthermore, a distributed lag nonlinear model was used to assess the nonlinear delayed effects of individual seasonal factors on COVID-19 cases. Such analysis highlighted the significantly delayed impact of UVDVF on the cumulative relative risk of COVID-19 infection. The findings of this study suggest that low UV exposure can affect the required production of vitamin D in the body, which substantially influences the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission and severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunanda Biswas Mukherjee
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases LabAzrieli Faculty of MedicineBar‐Ilan UniversitySafedIsrael
| | - Alessandro Gorohovski
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases LabAzrieli Faculty of MedicineBar‐Ilan UniversitySafedIsrael
| | - Eugene Merzon
- Leumit Health ServicesTel AvivIsrael
- Department of Family MedicineSackler School of MedicineTel Aviv UniversityIsrael
| | - Eliad Levy
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases LabAzrieli Faculty of MedicineBar‐Ilan UniversitySafedIsrael
| | - Sumit Mukherjee
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases LabAzrieli Faculty of MedicineBar‐Ilan UniversitySafedIsrael
| | - Milana Frenkel‐Morgenstern
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases LabAzrieli Faculty of MedicineBar‐Ilan UniversitySafedIsrael
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12
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Aronskyy I, Masoudi-Sobhanzadeh Y, Cappuccio A, Zaslavsky E. Advances in the computational landscape for repurposed drugs against COVID-19. Drug Discov Today 2021; 26:2800-2815. [PMID: 34339864 PMCID: PMC8323501 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2021.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths and massive societal distress worldwide. Therapeutic solutions are urgently needed, but de novo drug development remains a lengthy process. One promising alternative is computational drug repurposing, which enables the prioritization of existing compounds through fast in silico analyses. Recent efforts based on molecular docking, machine learning, and network analysis have produced actionable predictions. Some predicted drugs, targeting viral proteins and pathological host pathways are undergoing clinical trials. Here, we review this work, highlight drugs with high predicted efficacy and classify their mechanisms of action. We discuss the strengths and limitations of the published methodologies and outline possible future directions. Finally, we curate a list of COVID-19 data portals and other repositories that could be used to accelerate future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Illya Aronskyy
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Yosef Masoudi-Sobhanzadeh
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Antonio Cappuccio
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA,Corresponding authors
| | - Elena Zaslavsky
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA,Corresponding authors
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13
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Zhu Z, Zhang S, Wang P, Chen X, Bi J, Cheng L, Zhang X. A comprehensive review of the analysis and integration of omics data for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Brief Bioinform 2021; 23:6412396. [PMID: 34718395 PMCID: PMC8574485 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the first report of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019, over 100 million people have been infected by COVID-19, millions of whom have died. In the latest year, a large number of omics data have sprung up and helped researchers broadly study the sequence, chemical structure and function of SARS-CoV-2, as well as molecular abnormal mechanisms of COVID-19 patients. Though some successes have been achieved in these areas, it is necessary to analyze and mine omics data for comprehensively understanding SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Hence, we reviewed the current advantages and limitations of the integration of omics data herein. Firstly, we sorted out the sequence resources and database resources of SARS-CoV-2, including protein chemical structure, potential drug information and research literature resources. Next, we collected omics data of the COVID-19 hosts, including genomics, transcriptomics, microbiology and potential drug information data. And subsequently, based on the integration of omics data, we summarized the existing data analysis methods and the related research results of COVID-19 multi-omics data in recent years. Finally, we put forward SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) multi-omics data integration research direction and gave a case study to mine deeper for the disease mechanisms of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijun Zhu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081
| | - Sainan Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081
| | - Ping Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081
| | - Xinyu Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081
| | - Jianxing Bi
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081
| | - Liang Cheng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150081.,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Molecular Probe and Targeted Theranostics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150028
| | - Xue Zhang
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Molecular Probe and Targeted Theranostics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, 150028.,McKusick-Zhang Center for Genetic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, 100005
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14
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Barros M, Ruas P, Sousa D, Bangash AH, Couto FM. COVID-19 recommender system based on an annotated multilingual corpus. Genomics Inform 2021; 19:e24. [PMID: 34638171 PMCID: PMC8510867 DOI: 10.5808/gi.21008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Tracking the most recent advances in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)‒related research is essential, given the disease's novelty and its impact on society. However, with the publication pace speeding up, researchers and clinicians require automatic approaches to keep up with the incoming information regarding this disease. A solution to this problem requires the development of text mining pipelines; the efficiency of which strongly depends on the availability of curated corpora. However, there is a lack of COVID-19‒related corpora, even more, if considering other languages besides English. This project's main contribution was the annotation of a multilingual parallel corpus and the generation of a recommendation dataset (EN-PT and EN-ES) regarding relevant entities, their relations, and recommendation, providing this resource to the community to improve the text mining research on COVID-19‒related literature. This work was developed during the 7th Biomedical Linked Annotation Hackathon (BLAH7).
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Affiliation(s)
- Márcia Barros
- Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.,Center for Astrophysics and Gravitation, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Pedro Ruas
- Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Diana Sousa
- Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ali Haider Bangash
- Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 46000, Pakistan.,Working Group 3, COST Action EVidence-Based RESearch (EVBRES), Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway
| | - Francisco M Couto
- Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
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15
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Qi C, Wang C, Zhao L, Zhu Z, Wang P, Zhang S, Cheng L, Zhang X. SCovid: single-cell atlases for exposing molecular characteristics of COVID-19 across 10 human tissues. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 50:D867-D874. [PMID: 34634820 PMCID: PMC8524591 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
SCovid (http://bio-annotation.cn/scovid) aims at providing a comprehensive resource of single-cell data for exposing molecular characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across 10 human tissues. COVID-19, an epidemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been found to be accompanied with multiple-organ failure since its first report in Dec 2019. To reveal tissue-specific molecular characteristics, researches regarding to COVID-19 have been carried out widely, especially at single-cell resolution. However, these researches are still relatively independent and scattered, limiting the comprehensive understanding of the impact of virus on diverse tissues. To this end, we developed a single-cell atlas of COVID-19. Firstly we collected 21 single-cell datasets of COVID-19 across 10 human tissues paired with control datasets. Then we constructed a pipeline for the analysis of these datasets to reveal molecular characteristics of COVID-19 based on manually annotated cell types. The current version of SCovid documents 1 042 227 single cells of 21 single-cell datasets across 10 human tissues, 11 713 stably expressed genes and 3778 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). SCovid provides a user-friendly interface for browsing, searching, visualizing and downloading all detailed information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changlu Qi
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China
| | - Chao Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China
| | - Lingling Zhao
- Faculty of Computing, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China
| | - Zijun Zhu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China
| | - Ping Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China
| | - Sainan Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China
| | - Liang Cheng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, China.,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Molecular Probe and Targeted Theranostics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150028, China
| | - Xue Zhang
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Molecular Probe and Targeted Theranostics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150028, China.,McKusick-Zhang Center for Genetic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China
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16
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Djekidel MN, Rosikiewicz W, Peng JC, Kanneganti TD, Hui Y, Jin H, Hedges D, Schreiner P, Fan Y, Wu G, Xu B. CovidExpress: an interactive portal for intuitive investigation on SARS-CoV-2 related transcriptomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.05.14.444026. [PMID: 34075382 PMCID: PMC8168395 DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.14.444026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in humans could cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since its first discovery in Dec 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has become a global pandemic and caused 3.3 million direct/indirect deaths (2021 May). Amongst the scientific community's response to COVID-19, data sharing has emerged as an essential aspect of the combat against SARS-CoV-2. Despite the ever-growing studies about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, to date, only a few databases were curated to enable access to gene expression data. Furthermore, these databases curated only a small set of data and do not provide easy access for investigators without computational skills to perform analyses. To fill this gap and advance open-access to the growing gene expression data on this deadly virus, we collected about 1,500 human bulk RNA-seq datasets from publicly available resources, developed a database and visualization tool, named CovidExpress (https://stjudecab.github.io/covidexpress). This open access database will allow research investigators to examine the gene expression in various tissues, cell lines, and their response to SARS-CoV-2 under different experimental conditions, accelerating the understanding of the etiology of this disease to inform the drug and vaccine development. Our integrative analysis of this big dataset highlights a set of commonly regulated genes in SARS-CoV-2 infected lung and Rhinovirus infected nasal tissues, including OASL that were under-studied in COVID-19 related reports. Our results also suggested a potential FURIN positive feedback loop that might explain the evolutional advantage of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Nadhir Djekidel
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this study
| | - Wojciech Rosikiewicz
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this study
| | - Jamy C. Peng
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | | | - Yawei Hui
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Hongjian Jin
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Dale Hedges
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Patrick Schreiner
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Yiping Fan
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Gang Wu
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
| | - Beisi Xu
- Center for Applied Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, USA
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17
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Monticelli M, Hay Mele B, Benetti E, Fallerini C, Baldassarri M, Furini S, Frullanti E, Mari F, Andreotti G, Cubellis MV, Renieri A. Protective Role of a TMPRSS2 Variant on Severe COVID-19 Outcome in Young Males and Elderly Women. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:596. [PMID: 33921689 PMCID: PMC8073081 DOI: 10.3390/genes12040596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The protease encoded by the TMPRSS2 gene facilitates viral infections and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed the TMPRSS2 sequence and correlated the protein variants with the clinical features of a cohort of 1177 patients affected by COVID-19 in Italy. Nine relatively common variants (allele frequency > 0.01) and six missense variants which may affect the protease activity according to PolyPhen-2 in HumVar-trained mode were identified. Among them, p.V197M (p.Val197Met) (rs12329760) emerges as a common variant that has a deleterious effect on the protease and a protective effect on the patients. Its role appears particularly relevant in two subgroups of patients-young males and elderly women-and among those affected by co-morbidities, where the variant frequency is higher among individuals who were mildly affected by the disease and did not need hospitalization or oxygen therapy than among those more severely affected, who required oxygen therapy, ventilation or intubation. This study provides useful information for the identification of patients at risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19, and encourages the usage of drugs affecting the expression of TMPRSS2 or inhibiting protein activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Monticelli
- Department of Biology, Università Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy; (M.M.); (B.H.M.)
| | - Bruno Hay Mele
- Department of Biology, Università Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy; (M.M.); (B.H.M.)
- Integrative Marine Ecology Department, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy
| | - Elisa Benetti
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
| | - Chiara Fallerini
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Margherita Baldassarri
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Simone Furini
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
| | - Elisa Frullanti
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Francesca Mari
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | | | | | - Maria Vittoria Cubellis
- Department of Biology, Università Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy; (M.M.); (B.H.M.)
- Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare—CNR, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Alessandra Renieri
- Med Biotech Hub and Competence Center, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (E.B.); (C.F.); (M.B.); (S.F.); (E.F.); (F.M.); (A.R.)
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
- Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, 53100 Siena, Italy
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18
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Mukherjee S, Banerjee B, Karasik D, Frenkel-Morgenstern M. mRNA-lncRNA Co-Expression Network Analysis Reveals the Role of lncRNAs in Immune Dysfunction during Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Viruses 2021; 13:v13030402. [PMID: 33802569 PMCID: PMC7999169 DOI: 10.3390/v13030402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has rapidly developed into a global public health threat. Patients severely affected with COVID-19 present distinct clinical features, including acute respiratory disorder, neutrophilia, cytokine storm, and sepsis. In addition, multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines are found in the plasma of such patients. Transcriptome sequencing of different specimens obtained from patients suffering from severe episodes of COVID-19 shows dynamics in terms of their immune responses. However, those host factors required for SARS-CoV-2 propagation and the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for dysfunctional immune responses during COVID-19 infection remain elusive. In the present study, we analyzed the mRNA-long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) co-expression network derived from publicly available SARS-CoV-2-infected transcriptome data of human lung epithelial cell lines and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from COVID-19 patients. Through co-expression network analysis, we identified four differentially expressed lncRNAs strongly correlated with genes involved in various immune-related pathways crucial for cytokine signaling. Our findings suggest that the aberrant expression of these four lncRNAs can be associated with cytokine storms and anti-viral responses during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection of the lungs. Thus, the present study uncovers molecular interactions behind the cytokine storm activation potentially responsible for hyper-inflammatory responses in critical COVID-19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumit Mukherjee
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases Lab, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel;
| | - Bodhisattwa Banerjee
- Musculoskeletal Genetics Laboratory, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (B.B.); (D.K.)
| | - David Karasik
- Musculoskeletal Genetics Laboratory, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel; (B.B.); (D.K.)
| | - Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern
- Cancer Genomics and BioComputing of Complex Diseases Lab, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +972-72-264-4901
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19
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Biziukova N, Tarasova O, Ivanov S, Poroikov V. Automated Extraction of Information From Texts of Scientific Publications: Insights Into HIV Treatment Strategies. Front Genet 2021; 11:618862. [PMID: 33414815 PMCID: PMC7783389 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.618862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Text analysis can help to identify named entities (NEs) of small molecules, proteins, and genes. Such data are very important for the analysis of molecular mechanisms of disease progression and development of new strategies for the treatment of various diseases and pathological conditions. The texts of publications represent a primary source of information, which is especially important to collect the data of the highest quality due to the immediate obtaining information, in comparison with databases. In our study, we aimed at the development and testing of an approach to the named entity recognition in the abstracts of publications. More specifically, we have developed and tested an algorithm based on the conditional random fields, which provides recognition of NEs of (i) genes and proteins and (ii) chemicals. Careful selection of abstracts strictly related to the subject of interest leads to the possibility of extracting the NEs strongly associated with the subject. To test the applicability of our approach, we have applied it for the extraction of (i) potential HIV inhibitors and (ii) a set of proteins and genes potentially responsible for viremic control in HIV-positive patients. The computational experiments performed provide the estimations of evaluating the accuracy of recognition of chemical NEs and proteins (genes). The precision of the chemical NEs recognition is over 0.91; recall is 0.86, and the F1-score (harmonic mean of precision and recall) is 0.89; the precision of recognition of proteins and genes names is over 0.86; recall is 0.83; while F1-score is above 0.85. Evaluation of the algorithm on two case studies related to HIV treatment confirms our suggestion about the possibility of extracting the NEs strongly relevant to (i) HIV inhibitors and (ii) a group of patients i.e., the group of HIV-positive individuals with an ability to maintain an undetectable HIV-1 viral load overtime in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Analysis of the results obtained provides insights into the function of proteins that can be responsible for viremic control. Our study demonstrated the applicability of the developed approach for the extraction of useful data on HIV treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadezhda Biziukova
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga Tarasova
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergey Ivanov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia.,Department of Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biomedicine, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir Poroikov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
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20
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Rigden DJ, Fernández XM. The 2021 Nucleic Acids Research database issue and the online molecular biology database collection. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:D1-D9. [PMID: 33396976 PMCID: PMC7778882 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2021 Nucleic Acids Research database Issue contains 189 papers spanning a wide range of biological fields and investigation. It includes 89 papers reporting on new databases and 90 covering recent changes to resources previously published in the Issue. A further ten are updates on databases most recently published elsewhere. Seven new databases focus on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 and many others offer resources for studying the virus. Major returning nucleic acid databases include NONCODE, Rfam and RNAcentral. Protein family and domain databases include COG, Pfam, SMART and Panther. Protein structures are covered by RCSB PDB and dispersed proteins by PED and MobiDB. In metabolism and signalling, STRING, KEGG and WikiPathways are featured, along with returning KLIFS and new DKK and KinaseMD, all focused on kinases. IMG/M and IMG/VR update in the microbial and viral genome resources section, while human and model organism genomics resources include Flybase, Ensembl and UCSC Genome Browser. Cancer studies are covered by updates from canSAR and PINA, as well as newcomers CNCdatabase and Oncovar for cancer drivers. Plant comparative genomics is catered for by updates from Gramene and GreenPhylDB. The entire Database Issue is freely available online on the Nucleic Acids Research website (https://academic.oup.com/nar). The NAR online Molecular Biology Database Collection has been substantially updated, revisiting nearly 1000 entries, adding 90 new resources and eliminating 86 obsolete databases, bringing the current total to 1641 databases. It is available at https://www.oxfordjournals.org/nar/database/c/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Rigden
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
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