Chikungunya virus vaccine: a decade of progress solving epidemiological dilemma, emerging concepts, and immunological interventions.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a single-stranded RNA virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, poses a significant global health threat, with severe complications observed in vulnerable populations. The only licensed vaccine, IXCHIQ, approved by the US FDA, is insufficient to address the growing disease burden, particularly in endemic regions lacking herd immunity. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), explicitly targeting structural proteins E1/E2, demonstrate promise in passive transfer studies, with mouse and human-derived mAbs showing protective efficacy. This article explores various vaccine candidates, including live attenuated, killed, nucleic acid-based (DNA/RNA), virus-like particle, chimeric, subunit, and adenovirus vectored vaccines. RNA vaccines have emerged as promising candidates due to their rapid response capabilities and enhanced safety profile. This review underscores the importance of the E1 and E2 proteins as immunogens, emphasizing their antigenic potential. Several vaccine candidates, such as CHIKV/IRES, measles vector (MV-CHIK), synthetic DNA-encoded antibodies, and mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccines, demonstrate encouraging preclinical and clinical results. In addition to identifying potential molecular targets for antiviral therapy, the study looks into the roles played by Toll-like receptors, RIG-I, and NOD-like receptors in the immune response to CHIKV. It also offers insights into novel tactics and promising vaccine candidates. This article discusses potential antiviral targets, the significance of E1 and E2 proteins, monoclonal antibodies, and RNA vaccines as prospective Chikungunya virus vaccine candidates.

In silico PASS analysis and determination of antimycobacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant efficacies of maslinic acid in an extract rich in pentacyclic triterpenoids.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Microbial infections such as tuberculosis is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Plant-derived phytochemicals have a long history of providing much-needed novel therapeutics. Triterpenoids are among the prominent phytochemicals that possess numerous biological activities. Among them is maslinic acid (MA), a biologically active olean-type pentacyclic triterpenoid. In search of a novel antimicrobial agent, we aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of MA. METHODS: Antibacterial and antifungal activity was evaluated through the agar well diffusion method. Antitubercular activity was analysed through the agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods, respectively. Antioxidant capacity was determined through assays for total antioxidant capacity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging, and Fe3+ reducing power. The program Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances was used to calculate the possible biological activity of MA. RESULTS: MA showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity similar to that of ascorbic acid. It had no inhibitory effect on bacterial strains, but it had moderate activity against the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Ustilago maydis, with Aspergillus niger being the most sensitive to MA. MA also exhibited strong antimycobacterial activity. Probable antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity of MA based on software calculations are 0.479, 0.363 and 0.589 respectively. CONCLUSION: This work provides scientific evidence of the antioxidant, antifungal, and antimycobacterial activities of MA, showing its potential application in the development of natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents for the agro-food and pharmaceutical industries.