Chewable tablet with herbal extracts and propolis arrests Wuhan and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Prevention of COVID-19 is of paramount importance for public health. Some natural extracts might have the potential to suppress COVID-19 infection. Therefore, this study aimed to design a standardised, efficient, and safe chewable tablet formulation (with propolis and three herbal extracts) for possible prevention against two variants (Wuhan B.1.36 and Omicron BA.1.1) of SARS-CoV-2 virus and other viral infections. Green tea, bilberry, dried pomegranate peel, and propolis extracts were selected for this purpose. Cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of each component, as well as the developed chewable tablet, were examined against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus using Vero E6 cells with the xCELLigence real-time cell analyser-multiple plates system. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, as well as mutagenicity and anti-mutagenicity of the chewable tablet were also analysed. Compared to the control, it was observed that the chewable tablet at concentrations of 110 and 55 µg/mL had antiviral activity rates of 101% and 81%, respectively, for the Wuhan variant and 112% and 35%, respectively, for the Omicron variant. The combination of herbal extracts with propolis extract were synergically more effective (∼7-fold higher) than that of individual extract. The present work suggests that a combination of herbal extracts with propolis at suitable concentrations can effectively be used as a food supplement for the prevention of both variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the oral cavity (the first entry point of the SARS-CoV-2 virus).

Investigation of the Antiviral Effects of Saussurea lappa Root Extract against SARS-CoV-2 Virus.

SCOPE: The purpose of this study was to look into the antiviral activity of a plant extract derived from the roots of the Saussurea lappa as a food supplement against SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Vero E6 cells are employed in the study to test the neutralizing effect of Saussurea lappa extract against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. For anti-viral activity detection, a sensitive real-time cell analyzer (xCELLigence RTCA) with a high repetition rate is used. A challenge experiment in mice is planned as a result of the in vitro analysis. A challenge test against SARS-CoV-2 is performed with 10 adult female K18-hACE2 transgenic mice in each group for this purpose. The mice in the S. lappa Group are gavaged 2 days before the virus is administered intranasally (i.n.). The control group received PBS instead of the extract. SARS-CoV-2 virus is administered i.n. under anesthesia for the first 3 days of the experiment, and S. lappa extract was administered by gavage in the afternoon. On the 10th day, mice in the S. lappa group survived the study, whereas animals in the control group grew ill and/or died. In this study, the extract protects the mice against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 90% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the Saussurea plant has antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in animal models.

Pulmonary delivery of favipiravir inhalation solution for COVID-19 treatment: in vitro characterization, stability, in vitro cytotoxicity, and antiviral activity using real time cell analysis.

Favipiravir, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitor, is used to treat patients infected with influenza virus and most recently with SARS-CoV-2. However, poor accumulation of favipiravir in lung tissue following oral administration has required an alternative method of administration that directly targets the lungs. In this study, an inhalation solution of favipiravir at a concentration of 2 mg mL-1 was developed and characterized for the first time. The chemical stability of inhaled favipiravir solution in two different media, phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and normal saline (NS), was investigated under different conditions: 5 ± 3 °C, 25 ± 2 °C/60% RH ± 5% RH, and 40 ± 2 °C/75% RH ± 5% RH; in addition to constant light exposure. As a result, favipiravir solution in PBS revealed superior stability over 12 months at 5 ± 3 °C. Antiviral activity of favipiravir was assessed at the concentrations between 0.25 and 3 mg mL-1 with real time cell analyzer on Vero-E6 that were infected with SARS-CoV-2/B.1.36. The optimum concentration was found to be 2 mg mL-1, where minimum toxicity and sufficient antiviral activity was observed. Furthermore, cell viability assay against Calu-3 lung epithelial cells confirmed the biocompatibility of favipiravir at concentrations up to 50 µM (7.855 mg mL-1). The in vitro aerodynamic profiles of the developed inhaled favipiravir formulation, when delivered with soft-mist inhaler indicated good lung targeting properties. These results suggest that favipiravir solution prepared with PBS could be considered as a suitable and promising inhalation formulation for pulmonary delivery in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Development of propolis and essential oils containing oral/throat spray formulation against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A broad range of evidence has confirmed that natural products and essential oils might have the potential to suppress COVID-19 infection. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an oral/throat spray formulation for prophylactic use in the oral cavity or help treatment modalities. Based on a reference survey, several essential oils, a cold-pressed oil, and propolis were selected, and cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of each component and the developed spray formulation were examined against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection using Vero E6 cells. Anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and analgesic activities as well as mutagenicity and anti-mutagenicity of the formulation were analysed. Forty-three phenolics were identified in both propolis extract and oral/throat spray. The spray with 1:640-fold dilution provided the highest efficacy and the cytopathic effect was delayed for 54 h at this dilution, and the antiviral activity rate was 85.3%. A combination of natural products with essential oils at the right concentrations can be used as a supplement for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Pegylated metal-free and zinc(II) phthalocyanines: synthesis, photophysicochemical properties and in vitro photodynamic activities against head, neck and colon cancer cell lines.

In this study, a series of peripherally and non-peripherally tetra-substituted metal-free and zinc(II) phthalocyanines were successfully prepared in good yields by cyclotetramerization of the phthalonitrile derivative bearing a tetraethylene glycol methyl ether group at 3- and 4- positions. All newly synthesized compounds were characterized using spectroscopic methods, such as FT-IR, NMR, mass and UV-Vis spectroscopy. To determine the therapeutic potential of the synthesized phthalocyanines, the effects of the substitution pattern (peripheral and non-peripheral) and central metal atom on the photophysicochemical properties were investigated. When comparing their singlet oxygen generation capabilities (ΦΔ), metallo-phthalocyanine derivatives with zinc (0.73 for 1b and 0.70 for 2b) showed higher singlet oxygen yield than metal-free derivatives (0.21 for 1a and 0.12 for 2a) in DMSO. The photodynamic therapy activities of the water-soluble phthalocyanines were tested via in vitro studies using the A253, FaDu (head and neck cancer cell lines), and HT29 (colon cancer) cell lines. The strongest photodynamic activity was found in 1b and 2b molecules with a metal core among the four molecules studied. The results suggested that the non-peripherally tetra-substituted 1b molecule was regarded as a suitable photodynamic therapy agent due to its light cytotoxicity and secondary impact induced by ROS production.

Preclinical Studies on Convalescent Human Immune Plasma-Derived Exosome: Omics and Antiviral Properties to SARS-CoV-2.

The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic forced urgent measures for the development of new therapeutics. One of these strategies is the use of convalescent plasma (CP) as a conventional source for passive immunity. Recently, there has been interest in CP-derived exosomes. In this report, we present a structural, biochemical, and biological characterization of our proprietary product, convalescent human immune plasma-derived exosome (ChipEXO), following the guidelines set forth by the Turkish Ministry of Health and the Turkish Red Crescent, the Good Manufacturing Practice, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles, and the Gene Ontology Consortium. The data support the safety and efficacy of this product against SARS-CoV-2 infections in preclinical models.

The neutralization effect of montelukast on SARS-CoV-2 is shown by multiscale in silico simulations and combined in vitro studies.

Small molecule inhibitors have previously been investigated in different studies as possible therapeutics in the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the current drug repurposing study, we identified the leukotriene (D4) receptor antagonist montelukast as a novel agent that simultaneously targets two important drug targets of SARS-CoV-2. We initially demonstrated the dual inhibition profile of montelukast through multiscale molecular modeling studies. Next, we characterized its effect on both targets by different in vitro experiments including the enzyme (main protease) inhibition-based assay, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, pseudovirus neutralization on HEK293T/hACE2+TMPRSS2, and virus neutralization assay using xCELLigence MP real-time cell analyzer. Our integrated in silico and in vitro results confirmed the dual potential effect of montelukast both on the main protease enzyme inhibition and virus entry into the host cell (spike/ACE2). The virus neutralization assay results showed that SARS-CoV-2 virus activity was delayed with montelukast for 20 h on the infected cells. The rapid use of new small molecules in the pandemic is very important today. Montelukast, whose pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties are very well characterized and has been widely used in the treatment of asthma since 1998, should urgently be completed in clinical phase studies and, if its effect is proved in clinical phase studies, it should be used against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Structure-based engineering of an antiangiogenic scFv antibody for soluble production in E. coli without loss of activity.

Development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) protein, which is the main regulator in angiogenesis, has been a major challenge for years. In the current study, we engineer an inclusion body forming single-chain variable fragment (scFv) against VEGFR-2 by using complementarity determining regions (CDR) grafting technique to improve its solubility and investigate the activity of the engineered molecule. CDR sequences of the target scFv were grafted into the framework of another intrinsically soluble scFv molecule. Based on the computational results, CDR grafting has increased the solubility of the grafted scFv molecule. Results confirmed that the grafting approach increased in vivo folding properties of the target scFv molecule compared with the original scFv molecule. Similar binding affinities to the VEGFR-2 were observed for the original and the grafted scFv by surface plasmon resonance assays. Biological activity assays, including human umbilical vein endothelial cells proliferation and wound healing assays, showed that grafted scFv molecule has an antiangiogenic property. This study suggests that an antiangiogenic scFv fully expressed as an inclusion body can be rescued by grafting its CDR regions to a scFv expressed in a soluble form without any loss in its binding property and its activity.

Identifying specific matrix metalloproteinase-2-inhibiting peptides through phage display-based subtractive screening.

Gelatinases A and B, which are members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family, play essential roles in cancer development and metastasis, as they can break down basal membranes. Therefore, the determination and inhibition of gelatinases is essential for cancer treatment. Peptides that can specifically block each gelatinase may, therefore, be useful for cancer treatment. In this study, subtractive panning was carried out using a 12-mer peptide library to identify peptides that block gelatinase A activity (MMP-2), which is a key pharmacological target. Using this method, 17 unique peptide sequences were determined. MMP-2 inhibition by these peptides was evaluated through zymogram analyses, which revealed that four peptides inhibited MMP-2 activity by at least 65%. These four peptides were synthesized and used for in vitro wound healing using human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and two peptides, AOMP12 and AOMP29, were found to inhibit wound healing by 40%. These peptides are, thus, potential candidates for MMP-2 inhibition for cancer treatment. Furthermore, our findings suggest that our substractive biopanning screening method is a suitable strategy for identifying peptides that selectively inhibit MMP-2.

SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody development strategies.

In December 2019 a novel coronavirus was detected in Wuhan City of Hubei Province-China. Owing to a high rate of transmission from human to human, the new virus called SARS-CoV-2 differed from others by its unexpectedly rapid spread. The World Health Organization (WHO) described the most recent coronavirus epidemic as a global pandemic in March 2020. The virus spread triggered a health crisis (the COVID-19 disease) within three months, with socioeconomic implications. No approved targeted-therapies are available for COVID-19, yet. However, it is foreseen that antibody-based treatments may provide an immediate cure for patients. Current neutralizing antibody development studies primarily target the S protein among the structural elements of SARS-CoV-2, which mediates the cell entry of the virus through the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor of host cells. This review aims to provide some of the neutralizing antibody development strategies for SARS-CoV-2 and in vitro and in vivo neutralization assays.

Evaluation of apoptotic molecular pathways for smooth muscle cells isolated from thoracic aortic aneurysms in response to oxidized sterols.

Oxysterols, oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol, are found abundantly in the plasma and atherosclerotic plaques, a common risk factor for thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs). Among the oxysterols, namely 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) and 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-OHC), lead both to induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells and to apoptosis in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) probably due to increased oxidative stress. Since loss of SMCs through apoptosis is a major event in TAA formation, it is important to understand the molecular pathways of apoptosis in response to ROS in TAAs. Very little is known about the effect of oxysterols on TAA SMCs. Therefore, we investigated molecular pathways participating in the oxysterol induced cell death of TAAs. Our results showed that TAA SMCs died mainly as a result of apoptosis as suggested by cellular shrinkage, blebbing, DNA condensation/fragmentation in response to oxysterol treatment. There was no significant difference in oxysterol induced cell death between TAA and control SMCs. Addition of antioxidant molecules prevented cell death, hence ROS appears to be involved in the apoptosis of these cells. While oxysterol treatment increased caspase 3 activity, cell death was not rescued in its absence. Efficient silencing of other targets including apoptotic proteins (p53, Bax), and survival proteins (Akt1, Akt2) showed that apoptosis can occur through p53, and Bax independent pathways. Silencing Akt1 or Akt2 did not lead to further cell death. These results indicate that oxysterols can induce several cell death pathways in TAA SMCs.

Proteomic study of the microdissected aortic media in human thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Aortic aneurysm is a complex multifactorial disease, and its molecular mechanism is not understood. In thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), the expansion of the aortic wall is lead by extracellular matrix (ECM) degeneration in the medial layer, which leads to weakening of the aortic wall. This dilatation may end in rupture and-if untreated-death. The aortic media is composed of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and proteins involved in aortic elasticity and distensibility. Delineating their functional and quantitative decrease is critical in elucidating the disease causing mechanisms as well as the development of new preventive therapies. Laser microdissection (LMD) is an advanced technology that enables the isolation of the desired portion of tissue or cells for proteomics analysis, while preserving their integrity. In our study, the aortic media layers of 36 TAA patients and 8 controls were dissected using LMD technology. The proteins isolated from these tissue samples were subjected to comparative proteomic analysis by nano-LC-MS/MS, which enabled the identification of 352 proteins in aortic media. Among these, 41 proteins were differentially expressed in the TAA group with respect to control group, and all were downregulated in the patients. Of these medial proteins, 25 are novel, and their association with TAA is reported for the first time in our study. Subsequent analysis of the data by ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) shows that the majority of differentially expressed proteins were found to be cytoskeletal-associated proteins and components of the ECM which are critical in maintaining aortic integrity. Our results indicate that the protein expression profile in the aortic media from TAA patients differs significantly from controls. Further analysis of the mechanism points to markers of pathological ECM remodeling, which, in turn, affect VSMC cytosolic structure and architecture. In the future, the detailed investigation of the differentially expressed proteins may provide insight into the elucidation of the pathological processes underlying aneurysms.

Identification of ApoA1, HPX and POTEE genes by omic analysis in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and accounts for 23% of all female types of cancers. It is well recognized that breast cancer represents a heterogeneous group of tumors, and the molecular events involved in the progression to cancer remain undetermined. Moreover, available prognostic and predictive markers are not sufficient for the accurate determination of the risk for many breast cancer patients. Thus, it is necessary to discover new molecular markers for accurate prediction of clinical outcome and individualized therapy. In the present study, we performed omics-based whole-genome trancriptomic and whole proteomic profiling with network and pathway analyses of breast tumors to identify gene expression patterns related to clinical outcome. A total of 20 samples from tumors and 14 normal appearing breast tissues were analyzed using both gene expression microarrays and LC-MS/MS. We identified 585 downregulated and 413 upregulated genes by gene expression microarrays. Among these genes, HPX, POTEE and ApoA1 were the most significant genes correlated with the proteomic profile. Our data revealed that these identified genes are closely related to breast cancer and may be involved in robust detection of disease progression.

mTor is a signaling hub in cell survival: a mass-spectrometry-based proteomics investigation.

mTor plays a central role in controlling protein homeostasis and cell survival. Recently, we have demonstrated that perturbations of mTor signaling are implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that mTor complex 1 (mTorC1) is involved in the formation of toxic phospho-tau. Therefore, we employed mass-spectrometry-based proteomics to identify specific protein expression changes in relation with cell survival in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells expressing genetically modified mTor. Cell death in SH-SY5Y cells was induced by moderate serum deprivation. Using flow cytometry we observed that up-regulated mTor complex 2 (mTorC2) increases the number of viable cells. By using a combination approach of proteomic and enrichment analysis we have identified several proteins (Thioredoxin-dependent peroxide reductase, Peroxiredoxin-5, Cofilin 1 (non-muscle), Annexin A5, Mortalin, and 14-3-3 protein zeta/delta) involved in mitochondrial integrity, apoptotosis, and pro-survival functions (caspase inhibitor activity and anti-apoptosis) that were significantly altered by mTor activity modulation. The major findings of this study are the implication of mTorC2 but not mTorC1 in cell viability modulation by activating the pro-survival machinery. Taken together, these results suggest that up-regulated mTorC2 might be playing an important role in promoting cell survival by suppressing the mitochondria-caspase-apoptotic pathway in vitro.

Smooth muscle cells isolated from thoracic aortic aneurysms exhibit increased genomic damage, but similar tendency for apoptosis.

Aortic aneurysms (AA) are characterized by structural deterioration leading to progressive dilation. During the development of AA, two key structural changes are pronounced, one being degradation of extracellular matrix and the other loss of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) through apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced above physiological levels in dilated (aneurismal) part of the aorta compared to the nondilated part and they are known to be associated with both the extracellular matrix degradation and the loss of SMCs. In this study, we hypothesized that aneurismal SMCs are more prone to apoptosis and that at least some cells undergo apoptosis due to elevated ROS in the aortic wall. To test this hypothesis, we first isolated SMCs from thoracic aneurismal tissue and compared their apoptotic tendency with normal SMCs in response to H(2)O(2), oxidized sterol, or UV treatment. Exposed cells exhibited morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis, such as cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, and DNA fragmentation. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferased UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) further confirmed the fragmentation of nuclear DNA in these cells. Vascular SMCs were analyzed for their micronuclei (MN) and binucleate (BN) frequency as indicators of genomic abnormality. These data were then compared to patient parameters, including age, gender, hypertension, or aortic diameter for existing correlations. While the tendency for apoptosis was not significantly different compared to normal cells, both the %MN and %BN were higher in aneurismal SMCs. The data suggest that there is increased DNA damage in TAA samples, which might play a pivotal role in disease development.

Identification of novel neutralizing single-chain antibodies against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2.

Human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR-2/kinase domain receptor [KDR]) play a crucial role in angiogenesis, which makes the VEGFR-2 signaling pathway a major target for therapeutic applications. In this study, a single-chain antibody phage display library was constructed from spleen cells of mice immunized with recombinant human soluble extracellular VEGFR-2/KDR consisting of all seven extracellular domains (sKDR D1-7) to obtain antibodies that block VEGF binding to VEGFR-2. Two specific single-chain antibodies (KDR1.3 and KDR2.6) that recognized human VEGFR-2 were selected; diversity analysis of the clones was performed by BstNI fingerprinting and nucleotide sequencing. The single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) were expressed in soluble form and specificity of interactions between affinity purified scFvs and VEGFR-2 was confirmed by ELISA. Binding of the recombinant antibodies for VEGFR-2 receptors was investigated by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. In vitro cell culture assays showed that KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs significantly suppressed the mitogenic response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to recombinant human VEGF(165) in a dose-dependent manner, and reduced VEGF-dependent cell proliferation by 60% and 40%, respectively. In vivo analysis of these recombinant antibodies in a rat cornea angiogenesis model revealed that both antibodies suppressed the development of new corneal vessels (p < 0.05). Overall, in vitro and in vivo results disclose strong interactions of KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs with VEGFR-2. These findings indicate that KDR1.3 and KDR2.6 scFvs are promising antiangiogenic therapeutic agents.

Cryopreservation of spleen and lymph nodes as a source of mononuclear cells to be used for the development of monoclonal antibody producing hybridoma cells.

In the present study, spleen and lymph nodes of mice were cryopreserved as a whole tissue and after thawing, membrane integrity of mononuclear cells was determined by trypan blue exclusion and PI staining. T and B lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells have been isolated from both cryopreserved tissue and analyzed by Flow cytometry. BALB/c mice were immunized with Hepatitis e antigen (HBeAg) and spleen and lymph nodes of mice were cryopreserved for 3 to 10 months. The cells obtained from both tissue were applied to hybridoma technology to understand if the cells keep their viability and functionality. The cells were isolated and fused with F0 mouse myeloma cells and several antibody producing hybrid cells were developed. Results have shown that cryopreserved spleen and lymph nodes of mice can be efficiently used in hybridoma technology for the successful generation of monoclonal antibody producing hybrid cells.

Preparation and in vitro characterization of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-loaded poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres using a double emulsion/solvent evaporation technique.

Biodegradable Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid; PLGA), microspheres encapsulating the angiogenic protein recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (rhVEGF) were formed to achieve VEGF release in a sustained manner. These microspheres are a promising delivery system which can be used for therapeutic angiogenesis. The PLGA microspheres incorporating two different initial loading amounts of rhVEGF have been prepared by a modified water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double emulsion/solvent evaporation technique. The microspheres have been characterized by particle size distribution, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), light microscopy, encapsulation efficiency and their degradation was studied in vitro. The rhVEGF released from microspheres was quantified by the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation assay was used to assess biological activity of the released VEGF. The microspheres were spherical with diameters of 10-60 µm and the encapsulation efficiency was between 46% and 60%. The release kinetics of rhVEGF was studied for two different amounts: 5 µg VEGF (V5) and 50 µg VEGF (V50) per 500 mg starting polymer. The total protein (VEGF:BSA) release increased up to 4 weeks for two rhVEGF concentrations. The ELISA results showed that the burst release for V5 and V50 microspheres were 4 and 27 ng/mL, respectively. For V5, the microspheres showed an initial burst release, followed by a higher steady-state release until 14 days. VEGF release increased up to 2 weeks for V50 microsphere. HUVEC proliferation assay showed that endothelial cells responded to bioactive VEGF by proliferating and migrating.