A Critical Review on the Long-Term COVID-19 Impacts on Patients With Diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The world is currently grappling with the potentially life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), marking it as the most severe health crisis in the modern era. COVID-19 has led to a pandemic, with the World Health Organization (WHO) predicting that individuals with diabetes are at a higher risk of contracting the virus compared to the general population. This review aims to provide a practical summary of the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on patients with diabetes. Specifically, it focuses on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on different types of diabetic patients, the associated mortality rate, the underlying mechanisms, related complications, and the role of vitamin D and zinc in therapeutic and preventive approaches. METHODS: Relevant literature was identified through searches on PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct in English, up to April 2023. RESULTS: COVID-19 can lead to distressing symptoms and pose a significant challenge for individuals living with diabetes. Older individuals and those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, coronary illness, and asthma are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection. Managing COVID-19 in individuals with diabetes presents challenges, as it not only complicates the fight against the infection but also potentially prolongs the recovery time. Moreover, the virus may thrive in individuals with high blood glucose levels. Various therapeutic approaches, including antidiabetic drugs, are available to help prevent COVID-19 in diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes increases the morbidity and mortality risk for patients with COVID-19. Efforts are globally underway to explore therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing the impact of diabetes on COVID-19.

Heparin appended ADH-anionic polysaccharide nanoparticles for site-specific delivery of usnic acid.

The intention of present research work is to formulate usnic acid (UA) loaded heparin modified gellan gum (HAG) nanoparticles (NPs). HAG copolymer based conjugation was synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. Plain and UA loaded HAG NPs were prepared via nanoprecipitation technique. NPs were typified and further characterized for particle size, polydispersity index, entrapment efficiency, zeta potential, atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction analysis, and in-vitro release. In-vitro tube formation assay, tumorsphere assay, autophagy assay, DNA cleavage assay, internalization by confocal and FACS based internalization analysis, caspase assay and cell cycle assay were performed for biological activity. Obtained experimental results explored that HAG NPs displayed a sustained release of UA (95.67% in 48 h) compared to gellan gum NPs (96.12% in 8 h). In cytotoxicity studies, UA loaded HAG NPs exhibited an enormous cytotoxic potential against A549 cancer cells. In the in vivo bio-distribution study, using albino rat model the free UA concentration was found 7.09 ±â€¯0.9%, 2.7 ±â€¯1.5%, 7.5 ±â€¯2.1, 9.2 ±â€¯2%, and 6.25 ±â€¯1.3% post two hours of intravenous administration, however, in the case of UA loaded HAG NPs the obtained level was 4.1 ±â€¯1.10, 7.7 ±â€¯1.30%, 2.21 ±â€¯0.29%, 1.85 ±â€¯0.25%, 2.2 ±â€¯0.78%, 2.9 ±â€¯1.21% respectively, in heart, lung, liver, spleen, intestine and kidney. The overall anticancer study and result of internalization deciphered the higher anticancer potential of UA loaded HAG NPs.

Transcriptome analysis of the adult rumen fluke Paramphistomum cervi following next generation sequencing.

Rumen flukes are parasitic trematodes (Platyhelminthes: Digenea) of major socioeconomic importance in many countries. Key representatives, such as Paramphistomum cervi, can cause "Rumen fluke disease" or paramphistomosis and undermine economic animal productivity and welfare. P. cervi is primarily a problem in sheep, goat and buffalo production as a consequence of reduced weight gain and milk production, clinical disease or death. Recent technological advances in genomics and bioinformatics now provide unique opportunities for the identification and pre-validation of drug targets and vaccines through improved understanding of the biology of pathogens such as P. cervi and their relationship with their hosts at the molecular level. Here, we report next generation transcriptome sequencing analysis for P. cervi. RNAseq libraries were generated from RNA extracted from 15 adult P. cervi parasites sampled from each of three different host species (sheep, goat and buffalo) and a reference transcriptome was generated by assembly of all Ion Torrent PGM sequencing data. Raw reads (7,433,721 in total) were initially filtered for host nucleotide contamination and ribosomal RNAs and the remaining reads were assembled into 43,753 high confidence transcript contigs. In excess of 50% of the assembled transcripts were annotated with domain- or protein sequence similarity derived functional information. The reference adult P. cervi transcriptome will serve as a basis for future work on the biology of this important parasite. Using the widely investigated trematode virulence factor and vaccine candidate Cathepsin L as an example, the epitope GPISIAINA was found to be conserved in P. cervi isolated from three different host species supporting its candidacy for vaccine development and illustrating the utility of the adult P. cervi transcriptome.