Identification of a Novel Susceptibility Marker for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Human Subjects and Risk Mitigation with a Clinically Approved JAK Inhibitor in Human/Mouse Cells

Human interaction targets of SARS-COV-2 spike protein: A systematic review

Objectives:

The development of effective targeted therapy and drug-design approaches against the SARS-CoV-2 is a universal health priority. Therefore, it is important to assess possible therapeutic strategies against SARS-CoV-2 via its most interaction targets. The present study aimed to perform a systematic review on clinical and experimental investigations regarding SARS-COV-2 interaction targets for human cell entry.

Methods:

A systematic search using relevant MeSH terms and keywords was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science (ISI) databases up to July 2021. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of the studies, extracted the data, and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. Additionally, a narrative synthesis was done as a qualitative method for data gathering and synthesis of each outcome measure.

Results:

A total of 5610 studies were identified, and 128 articles were included in the systematic review. Based on the results, spike antigen was the only interaction protein from SARS-CoV-2. However, the interaction proteins from humans varied including different spike receptors and several cleavage enzymes. The most common interactions of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 for cell entry were ACE2 (entry receptor) and TMPRSS2 (for spike priming). A lot of published studies have mainly focused on the ACE2 receptor followed by the TMPRSS family and furin. Based on the results, ACE2 polymorphisms as well as spike RBD mutations affected the SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity.

Conclusion:

The included studies shed more light on SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry mechanisms and detailed interactions, which could enhance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and the development of new and comprehensive therapeutic approaches.

Pushing the frontiers: tools for monitoring neurotransmitters and neuromodulators

Neurotransmitters and neuromodulators have a wide range of key roles throughout the nervous system. However, their dynamics in both health and disease have been challenging to assess, owing to the lack of in vivo tools to track them with high spatiotemporal resolution. Thus, developing a platform that enables minimally invasive, large-scale and long-term monitoring of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators with high sensitivity, high molecular specificity and high spatiotemporal resolution has been essential. Here, we review the methods available for monitoring the dynamics of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Following a brief summary of non-genetically encoded methods, we focus on recent developments in genetically encoded fluorescent indicators, highlighting how these novel indicators have facilitated advances in our understanding of the functional roles of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in the nervous system. These studies present a promising outlook for the future development and use of tools to monitor neurotransmitters and neuromodulators.

Predicted coronavirus Nsp5 protease cleavage sites in the human proteome

Background

The coronavirus nonstructural protein 5 (Nsp5) is a cysteine protease required for processing the viral polyprotein and is therefore crucial for viral replication. Nsp5 from several coronaviruses have also been found to cleave host proteins, disrupting molecular pathways involved in innate immunity. Nsp5 from the recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 virus interacts with and can cleave human proteins, which may be relevant to the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Based on the continuing global pandemic, and emerging understanding of coronavirus Nsp5-human protein interactions, we set out to predict what human proteins are cleaved by the coronavirus Nsp5 protease using a bioinformatics approach.

Results

Using a previously developed neural network trained on coronavirus Nsp5 cleavage sites (NetCorona), we made predictions of Nsp5 cleavage sites in all human proteins. Structures of human proteins in the Protein Data Bank containing a predicted Nsp5 cleavage site were then examined, generating a list of 92 human proteins with a highly predicted and accessible cleavage site. Of those, 48 are expected to be found in the same cellular compartment as Nsp5. Analysis of this targeted list of proteins revealed molecular pathways susceptible to Nsp5 cleavage and therefore relevant to coronavirus infection, including pathways involved in mRNA processing, cytokine response, cytoskeleton organization, and apoptosis.

Conclusions

This study combines predictions of Nsp5 cleavage sites in human proteins with protein structure information and protein network analysis. We predicted cleavage sites in proteins recently shown to be cleaved in vitro by SARS-CoV-2 Nsp5, and we discuss how other potentially cleaved proteins may be relevant to coronavirus mediated immune dysregulation. The data presented here will assist in the design of more targeted experiments, to determine the role of coronavirus Nsp5 cleavage of host proteins, which is relevant to understanding the molecular pathology of coronavirus infection.

Impact of COVID-19 on inflammatory bowel disease practice and perspectives for the future

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); since its first description in December 2019, it has rapidly spread to a global pandemic. Specific concerns have been raised concerning patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which are chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorders of the gut that frequently require immunosuppressive and biological therapies to control their activity. Accumulating evidence has so far demonstrated that patients with IBD are not at increased risk of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. As for the general population, the identified risk factors for severe COVID-19 course among IBD patients have been established to be advanced age and the presence of comorbidities. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids has also been associated with an increased risk of death in IBD patients with COVID-19. Information on COVID-19 is constantly evolving, with data growing at a rapid pace. This will guarantee better knowledge and stronger evidence to help physicians in the choice of the best therapeutic approach for each patient, concurrently controlling for the risk of IBD disease under treatment and the risk of COVID-19 adverse outcomes and balancing the two. Moreover, the impact of the enormous number of severe respiratory patients on healthcare systems and facilities has led to an unprecedented redeployment of healthcare resources, significantly impacting the care of patients with chronic diseases. In this newly changed environment, the primary aim is to avoid harm whilst still providing adequate management. Telemedicine has been applied and is strongly encouraged for patients without the necessity of infusion therapy and whose conditions are stable. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has already revolutionized the management of patients with chronic immune-mediated diseases such as IBD. Direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be present for some time. This is the reason why continuous research, rapid solutions and constantly updated guidelines are of utmost importance. The aim of the present review is, therefore, to point out what has been learned so far as well as to pinpoint the unanswered questions and perspectives for the future.

Anaerobic Degradation of Propanil in Soil and Sediment Using Mixed Bacterial Culture

The widespread use of the herbicide, propanil, causes severe environmental problems. In this study, the effects of propanil on the bacterial community in a sediment slurry were determined. Moreover, the degradation of the herbicide by pure and mixed cultures was first conducted under anaerobic conditions. The results showed that propanil caused significant changes in the bacterial community under anaerobic conditions. Four bacterial strains, i.e., Geobacter sp. Pr-1, Paracoccus denitrificans Pr-2, Pseudomonas sp. Pr-3, and Rhodococcus sp. Pr-4, isolated from the an enrichment sediment slurry were the first pure cultures that degraded propanil and 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) under anaerobic conditions. Some individual isolates showed the slow degradation of propanil and 3,4-DCA, but the mixture of the four strains increased the degradation rates of both compounds. The mixed culture of these isolates transformed more than 90% of propanil within 10 days in liquid media with the amendment of dextrose, glucose, or acetate. The determination of degradation pathway showed that propanil was transformed to 3,4-DCA and some other products before degrading completely. This study provides valuable information on the effects of propanil on the bacterial community and the synergistic degradation of propanil under anaerobic conditions.

Targeting lipid GPCRs to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus - progress and challenges

Therapeutic approaches to the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus that are designed to increase insulin secretion either directly target β-cells or indirectly target gastrointestinal enteroendocrine cells (EECs), which release hormones that modulate insulin secretion (for example, incretins). Given that β-cells and EECs both express a large array of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that modulate insulin secretion, considerable research and development efforts have been undertaken to design therapeutic drugs targeting these GPCRs. Among them are GPCRs specific for free fatty acid ligands (lipid GPCRs), including free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1, otherwise known as GPR40), FFA2 (GPR43), FFA3 (GPR41) and FFA4 (GPR120), as well as the lipid metabolite binding glucose-dependent insulinotropic receptor (GPR119). These lipid GPCRs have demonstrated important roles in the control of islet and gut hormone secretion. Advances in lipid GPCR pharmacology have led to the identification of a number of synthetic agonists that exert beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis in preclinical studies. Yet, translation of these promising results to the clinic has so far been disappointing. In this Review, we present the physiological roles, pharmacology and clinical studies of these lipid receptors and discuss the challenges associated with their clinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.