Impact of latent toxoplasmosis on pneumonic and non-pneumonic COVID-19 patients with estimation of relevant oxidative stress biomarkers.

Susceptibility to COVID-19, the most devastating global pandemic, appears to vary widely across different population groups. Exposure to toxoplasmosis has been proposed as a theory to explain the diversity of these populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between latent toxoplasmosis and COVID-19 and its probable correlation with markers of oxidative stress, C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin. In a case-control study, blood samples were collected from 91 confirmed (48 non-pneumonic; NP, and 43 pneumonic; P) COVID-19 patients and 45 healthy controls. All participants were tested for IgG anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and oxidative stress markers (nitric oxide [NO], superoxide dismutase [SOD] and reduced glutathione [GSH]), and CRP and serum ferritin levels were determined. In COVID-19 patients, IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies were found in 54% compared to 7% in the control group, with the difference being statistically significant (P ˂ 0.001). However, no significant correlation was found between the severity of COVID-19 and latent T. gondii infection. Latent toxoplasmosis had a strong influence on the risk of COVID-19. NO and SOD levels were significantly increased in COVID-19 patients, while GSH levels decreased significantly in them compared to control subjects (P ˂ 0.001 for both values). CRP and ferritin levels were also significantly elevated in P COVID-19 patients infected with toxoplasmosis. This is the first study to look at the importance of oxidative stress indicators in co-infection between COVID-19 and T. gondii. The high prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis in COVID-19 suggests that T. gondii infection can be considered a strong indicator of the high risk of COVID-19.

Novel 6-hydroxyquinolinone derivatives: Design, synthesis, antimicrobial evaluation, in silico study and toxicity profiling.

Infectious diseases of bacteria and fungi have become a major risk to public health because of antibiotic and antifungal resistance. However, the availability of effective antibacterial and antifungal agents is becoming increasingly limited with growing resistance to existing drugs. In response to that, novel agents are critically needed to overcome such resistance. A new series of 6-hydroxyquinolinone 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b bearing different side chains were synthesized and evaluated as antimicrobials against numbers of bacteria and fungi, using inhibition zone technique. As one of these derivatives, compound 3 was identified as a potent antibacterial and antifungal agent against all tested microorganisms with good minimum inhibitory concentration values comparable to reference drugs. Molecular docking studies were performed on antibacterial and antifungal targets; microbial DNA gyrase B of Staphylococcus aureus (PDB ID: 4URO); N-myristoyltransferase of Candida albicans (PDB ID: 1IYK), respectively, to predict the most probable type of interaction at the active site of the target protein in addition to binding affinities and orientations of docked ligands. Additionally, in silico prediction in terms of detailed physicochemical ADME and toxicity profile relating drug-likeness as well as medicinal chemistry friendliness was performed to all synthesized compounds. The results indicated that a novel 4,6-dihydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one (3) is likely to be a newly synthesized drug candidate, indicating low toxicity in addition to good in silico absorption. In order to pave the way for more logical production of such compounds, structure-activity and toxicity relationships are also discussed.

Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)-derived nanoparticles in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice: Hepatoprotective and enhancer of etiological treatment.

BACKGROUND: Nanotechnology has been manufactured from medicinal plants to develop safe, and effective antischistosmal alternatives to replace today's therapies. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prophylactic effect of ginger-derived nanoparticles (GNPs), and the therapeutic effect of ginger aqueous extract, and GNPs on Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) infected mice compared to praziquantel (PZQ), and mefloquine (MFQ). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eighty four mice, divided into nine different groups, were sacrificed at 6th, 8th, and 10th week post-infection (PI), with assessment of parasitological, histopathological, and oxidative stress parameters, and scanning the worms by electron microscope. As a prophylactic drug, GNPs showed slight reduction in worm burden, egg density, and granuloma size and number. As a therapeutic drug, GNPs significantly reduced worm burden (59.9%), tissue egg load (64.9%), granuloma size, and number at 10th week PI, and altered adult worm tegumental architecture, added to antioxidant effect. Interestingly, combination of GNPs with PZQ or MFQ gave almost similar or sometimes better curative effects as obtained with each drug separately. The highest therapeutic effect was obtained when ½ dose GNPs combined with ½ dose MFQ which achieved 100% reduction in both the total worm burden, and ova tissue density as early as the 6th week PI, with absence of detected eggs or tissue granuloma, and preservation of liver architecture. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: GNPs have a schistosomicidal, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective role. GNPs have a strong synergistic effect when combined with etiological treatments (PZQ or MFQ), and significantly reduced therapeutic doses by 50%, which may mitigate side effects and resistance to etiological drugs, a hypothesis requiring further research. We recommend extending this study to humans.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of essential oils from Schinus polygamus (Cav.) cabrera leaf and bark grown in Egypt.

Schinus polygamus (Anacardiaceae) is a shrub cultivated in Egypt for ornamental purpose. The major components of bark oil were dl-limonene (29.74%), followed by myrtenal (14.02%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.34%), while E-caryophyllene (55.86%), dl-limonene (27.71%) and ß-pinene (3.54%) were predominant in the leaf oil. These isolated oils were screened for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 33591, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Candida albicans MTCC183 and Aspergillus niger NRRL 595, and two clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. The leaf oil showed a remarkable inhibitory effect against all tested bacterial strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of 25 to 300 µg/mL, while the bark oil was active against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145 only. Furthermore, the bark and leaf oils revealed potent cytotoxic effects on HepG2 and Caco-2 cells with IC50 values of 1.56 to 24.12 µg/mL.