ABSTRACT
Coronavirus with intact infectivity attached to PPE surfaces pose significant threat to the spread of COVID-19. We tested the hypothesis that an electroceutical fabric, generating weak potential difference of 0.5 V, disrupts the infectivity of coronavirus upon contact by destabilizing the electrokinetic properties of the virion. Porcine respiratory coronavirus AR310 particles (105) were placed in direct contact with the fabric for 1 or 5 min. Following one minute of contact, zeta potential of the porcine coronavirus was significantly lowered indicating destabilization of its electrokinetic properties. Size-distribution plot showed appearance of aggregation of the virus. Testing of the cytopathic effects of the virus showed eradication of infectivity as quantitatively assessed by PI-calcein and MTT cell viability tests. This work provides the rationale to consider the studied electroceutical fabric, or other materials with comparable property, as material of choice for the development of PPE in the fight against COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/transmission , Electrochemistry/methods , Textiles , Animals , Anti-Infective Agents , Body Fluids , Cell Line , Cell Survival , Fluoresceins , Humans , Hydrogen Peroxide , Kinetics , Nanoparticles , Propidium , SARS-CoV-2 , Swine , Temperature , Tetrazolium Salts , Thiazoles , Virion , Wound HealingABSTRACT
Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is currently a pandemic. Although pulmonary health has been the primary focus of studies during the early days of COVID-19, development of a comprehensive understanding of this emergent disease requires knowledge of all possible disease manifestations in affected patients. This Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-compliant review focuses on cutaneous manifestations reported in COVID-19 patients. Approach: Literature review was conducted using the PubMed database to examine various cutaneous manifestations related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Published articles (n = 56) related to search criteria from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to June 30, 2020, were included. The primary literature articles included in this study were mainly from France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Results: Unique to many other symptoms of COVID-19, its cutaneous manifestations have been found in people of all age groups, including children. The cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 are varied and include maculopapular, chilblain-like, urticarial, vesicular, livedoid, and petechial lesions. In addition, rashes are common in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a new and serious health condition that shares symptoms with Kawasaki disease and is likely related to COVID-19. In addition, personal protective equipment-related skin wounds are of serious concern since broken cutaneous barriers can create an opening for potential COVID-19 infections. Innovation and Conclusion: As this virus continues to spread silently, mainly through asymptomatic carriers, an accurate and rapid identification of these cutaneous manifestations may be vital to early diagnosis and lead to possible better prognosis in COVID-19 patients. This systematic review and photo atlas provide a detailed analysis of the skin pathologies related to COVID-19. Study of these cutaneous manifestations and their pathogenesis, as well their significance in human health will help define COVID-19 in its entirety, which is a prerequisite to its effective management.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Skin Diseases , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/physiopathology , COVID-19/therapy , Disease Management , Early Diagnosis , Humans , Skin Diseases/classification , Skin Diseases/etiology , Skin Diseases/therapy , Skin Diseases/virology , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/physiopathology , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/therapyABSTRACT
Human lungs single-cell RNA sequencing data from healthy donors (elderly and young; GEO accession no. GSE122960) were analyzed to isolate and specifically study gene expression in alveolar type II cells. Colocalization of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and TMPRSS2 enables severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2) to enter the cells. Expression levels of these genes in the alveolar type II cells of elderly and young patients were comparable and, therefore, do not seem to be responsible for worse outcomes observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected elderly. In cells from the elderly, 263 genes were downregulated and 95 upregulated. Superoxide dismutase 3 (SOD3) was identified as the top-ranked gene that was most downregulated in the elderly. Other redox-active genes that were also downregulated in cells from the elderly included activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and metallothionein 2A (M2TA). ATF4 is an endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor that defends lungs via induction of heme oxygenase 1. The study of downstream factors known to be induced by ATF4, according to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis™, identified 24 candidates. Twenty-one of these were significantly downregulated in the cells from the elderly. These downregulated candidates were subjected to enrichment using the Reactome Database identifying that in the elderly, the ability to respond to heme deficiency and the ATF4-dependent ability to respond to endoplasmic reticulum stress is significantly compromised. SOD3-based therapeutic strategies have provided beneficial results in treating lung disorders including fibrosis. The findings of this study propose the hypotheses that lung-specific delivery of SOD3/ATF4-related antioxidants will work in synergy with promising antiviral drugs such as remdesivir to further improve COVID-19 outcomes in the elderly.