Development of Proniosome Gel Formulation for CHIKV Infection.

Given the increasing aging population and the rising prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases due to obesity and injury, urgent research is needed to formulate new treatment alternatives, as current options remain inadequate. Viruses can exacerbate arthritis and worsen symptoms in patients with pre-existing osteoarthritis. Over the past decade, the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has emerged as a significant public health concern, especially in Asia and South America. Exploring natural products, such as berberine, has shown promise due to its anticatabolic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, berberine's low stability and bioavailability limit its efficacy. We hypothesized that encapsulating berberine into a proniosome gel, known for its ease of preparation and stability, could enhance its bioavailability and efficacy when applied topically, potentially treating CHIKV infection. Our investigation focused on how varying berberine loads and selected excipients in the proniosome gel influenced its physical properties, stability, and skin permeability. We also examined the biological half-life of berberine in plasma upon topical administration in mice to assess the potential for controlled and sustained drug release. Additionally, we analyzed the antioxidant stress activity and cell viability of HaCaT keratinocytes and developed a lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cell culture model to evaluate anti-inflammatory effects using pro-inflammatory cytokines. Overall, the research aims to transform the treatment landscape for arthritis by leveraging berberine's therapeutic potential.

Rapid microfluidic platform for screening and enrichment of cells secreting virus neutralizing antibodies.

As part of the body's immune response, antibodies (Abs) have the ability to neutralize pathogenic viruses to prevent infection. To screen for neutralizing Abs (nAbs) from the immune repertoire, multiple screening techniques have been developed. However, conventional methods have a trade-off between screening throughput and the ability to screen for nAbs via their functional efficacy. Although droplet microfluidic platforms have the ability to bridge this disparity, the majority of such reported platforms still rely on Ab-binding assays as a proxy for function, which results in irrelevant hits. Herein, we report the multi-module Droplet-based Platform for Effective Antibody RetrievaL (DROP-PEARL) platform, which can achieve high-throughput enrichment of Ab-secreting cells (ASCs) based on the neutralizing activity of secreted nAbs against the a target virus. In this study, in-droplet Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection of host cells and neutralization was demonstrated via sequential delivery of viruses and host cells via picoinjection. In addition, we demonstrate the ability of the sorting system to accurately discriminate and isolate uninfected droplets from a mixed population of droplets at a rate of 150 000 cells per hour. As a proof of concept, a single-cell neutralization assay was performed on two populations of cells (nAb-producing and non-Ab producing cells), and up to 2.75-fold enrichment of ASCs was demonstrated. Finally, we demonstrated that DROP-PEARL is able to achieve similar enrichment for low frequency (∼2%) functional nAb-producing cells in a background of excess cells secreting irrelevant antibodies, highlighting its potential prospect as a first round enrichment platform for functional ASCs. We envision that the DROP-PEARL platform could potentially be used to accelerate the discovery of nAbs against other pathogenic viral targets, and we believe it will be a useful in the ongoing fight against biological threats.

Increased Serum Hyaluronic Acid and Heparan Sulfate in Dengue Fever: Association with Plasma Leakage and Disease Severity.

Plasma leakage is a major pathogenic mechanism of severe dengue, but the etiology remains unclear. The association between endothelial glycocalyx integrity and vascular permeability in older adults with dengue has not been evaluated. A prospective cohort study of adults with undifferentiated fever screened for dengue by RT-PCR or NS1 antigen testing was performed. Patients were assessed daily while symptomatic and at convalescence. Serum hyaluronic acid (HA), heparan sulfate (HS) and selected cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10) were measured on enrollment and convalescence. Patients were diagnosed as dengue fever (DF, n = 30), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF, n = 20) and non-dengue (ND) febrile illness (n = 11). Acute HA and HS levels were significantly higher in all dengue patients compared to ND (p = 0.0033 and p = 0.0441 respectively), but not different between DF and DHF (p = 0.3426 and p = 0.9180 respectively). Enrolment HA inversely correlated with serum albumin, protein and platelets in all dengue and DHF (p < 0.05). HA and HS in all dengue patients decreased significantly at convalescence. Serum IL-10 was significantly associated with HA in all dengue patients (p = 0.002). Serum HA and HS levels were increased in adult dengue and HA was associated with markers of disease severity. Endothelial glycocalyx damage may have a role in vascular leakage in dengue.

Chikungunya virus nsP4 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase core domain displays detergent-sensitive primer extension and terminal adenylyltransferase activities.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an important arboviral infectious agent in tropical and subtropical regions, often causing persistent and debilitating disease. The viral enzyme non-structural protein 4 (nsP4), as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), catalyzes the formation of negative-sense, genomic and subgenomic viral RNAs. Here we report a truncated nsP4 construct that is soluble, stable and purified recombinantly from Escherichia coli. Sequence analyses and homology modelling indicate that all necessary RdRP elements are included. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry was used to analyze solvent accessibility and flexibility of subdomains. Fluorophore-conjugated RNA ligands were designed and screened by using fluorescence anisotropy to select a suitable substrate for RdRP assays. Assay trials revealed that nsP4 core domain is conditionally active upon choice of detergent species, and carries out both primed extension and terminal adenylyltransferase activities. The polymerization assay can be further developed to screen for antiviral compounds in vitro.

Limitations of Current in Vivo Mouse Models for the Study of Chikungunya Virus Pathogenesis.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod-borne alphavirus that causes febrile chikungunya fever (CHIKF) in humans. This disease is debilitating and characterized by acute fever onset and chronic incapacitating polyarthralgia. CHIKF pathogenesis remains poorly defined with no approved vaccines and therapies. Recent outbreaks in the Caribbean islands have elevated concerns over the possibility of a global pandemic. Tremendous efforts have been made to develop relevant mouse models to enable the study of infection and immunity against this viral disease. Among them, the more common C57BL/6 mouse model demonstrated the ability to recapitulate the symptoms shown in infected humans, including self-limiting arthritis, myositis, and tenosynovitis. This has facilitated the unraveling of some key factors involved in disease pathogenesis of CHIKF. However, the stark differences in immune response between humans and mouse models necessitate the development of an animal model with an immune system that is more genetically similar to the human system for a better representation. In this paper, we aim to uncover the limitations of the C57BL/6 model and discuss alternative mouse models for CHIKV research.