PEDOT:PSS in Solution Form Exhibits Strong Potential in Inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 Infection of the Host Cells by Targeting Viruses and Also the Host Cells.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic with over 5 million fatalities. Vaccines against this virus have been globally administered; however, SARS-CoV-2 variants with spike protein mutations are continuously identified with strong capability to escape vaccine-elicited protection. Due to the high mutation rate and transmission ability, the development of a broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor is highly in demand. In this study, the effect of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) against SARS-CoV-2 was investigated. The treatment of pseudoviruses carrying the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with PEDOT:PSS strongly blocked SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection in human ACE2-expressing cells without causing cytotoxicity. Specifically, PEDOT:PSS showed great potential in both inactivating viruses and rendering antiviral activity to the treated cells. The effects of other PEDOT:PSS solutions with different chemical ratios and properties were also validated to find the high inhibition capacity against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection. The transcriptomic data reveal that PEDOT:PSS-treated cells were endowed with transcriptional alteration, and it could be reverted after the removal of PEDOT:PSS from the culture medium. Importantly, PEDOT:PSS also exhibited broad-spectrum inhibition effects on the pseudovirus carrying the spike protein isolated from different variants. In combination with the advantage of high biocompatibility, PEDOT:PSS could thus be considered a potential therapeutic and prophylactic material against SARS-CoV-2.

Assessing quality of life for multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis patients.

OBJECTIVE: One can hypothesize that Mycobacterium genus originated more than 150 million years ago and has evolved to become one of the leading lethal infectious diseases. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) patients are directly affected by the disease and other subjective issues, such as related diseases, medical costs and social issues, which all have negative impacts on patient quality of life (QOL). Our purpose is to define the status of health-related QOL for international MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients. METHODS: Systematic review is a good method for searching and selecting related researches and articles. As such, we have searched for and cited related articles on reputable databases, such as PubMed, Cochrance, and Google Scholar. A data overview was performed to draw conclusions and results on the QOL of MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients. RESULTS: A total of 18 articles were included, using instruments from the World Health Organization, Euroqol, Short Form, AQ and the Seattle Obstructive Lung Disease Questionnaire. The QOL of MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients was found to be compromised due to the strong resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, economic pressure and community alienation. CONCLUSIONS: A number of QOL and health-related QOL studies on MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients are limited, especially with XDR-TB patients. Significant numbers of MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients still have sequelae after completing treatment, reducing the health-related QOL among these patients.