Determination of neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody half-life in COVID-19 convalescent donors.

Despite the burgeoning field of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) research, the persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralising antibodies remains unclear. This study validated two high-throughput immunological methods for use as surrogate live virus neutralisation assays and employed them to examine the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies in convalescent plasma donations made by 42 repeat donors between April and September 2020. SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody titres decreased over time but typically remained above the methods' diagnostic cut-offs. Using this longitudinal data, the average half-life of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies was determined to be 20.4 days. SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody titres appear to persist in the majority of donors for several months. Whether these titres confer protection against re-infection requires further study and is of particular relevance as COVID-19 vaccines become widely available.

Outcome of challenging HIV case consultations provided via teleconference by the Clinician Consultation Center to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the collaboration and prospective outcome of challenging human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases presented by Board of Prisons (BOP) pharmacists in consultation with Clinician Consultation Center (CCC) clinical pharmacists and physicians to improve correctional patient care. SETTING: Federal correctional facilities. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Pharmacists improve care of incarcerated persons infected with HIV. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacists evaluate, implement, and provide successful oversight of HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) care. EVALUATION: Retrospective review of the clinical outcomes of HIV and HCV coinfected cases implemented by BOP pharmacists following CCC clinical consultations from 2010 through 2012. RESULTS: Most cases focused on selecting optimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens in patients experiencing treatment failure by interpreting resistance tests, limiting ART toxicity, identifying adherence strategies, and managing HIV/HCV coinfection. In 32 of the 34 cases presented, 87.5% (28/32) of CCC recommendations were implemented, resulting in 89% of those patients (25/28) achieving optimal virologic or clinical outcome. Complete virologic suppression occurred in 64% (18/28), and significant viral load reductions in 25% (7/28) of the cases. No changes occurred in 2 patients, and data were not available in 2 others lost to follow-up. BOP participation has increased since its inception from 6 to 12-15 pharmacists per call. Discussions also included updates in antiretroviral guidelines, screening and management of patients coinfected with HIV and HCV, and implications for BOP guidelines. CONCLUSION: BOP clinical consultant pharmacists can successfully implement CCC recommendations to achieve desired clinical outcomes. Consultations and educational efforts from CCC experts assist BOP pharmacists in ensuring excellence in management of complex HIV/HCV issues and medication regimens to achieve desired outcomes. CCC collaboration and BOP pharmacist involvement have improved patient care. Using a team approach to include BOP clinical pharmacists and obtaining expert opinion in management of other chronic illnesses may be a model that can be considered to improve correctional care.

Heterologous expression of the methyl carbamate-degrading hydrolase MCD.

The methyl carbamate-degrading hydrolase (MCD) of Achromobacter WM111 has considerable potential as a pesticide bioremediation agent. However this potential has been unrealisable until now because of an inability to express MCD in heterologous hosts such as Escherichia coli. Herein, we describe the first successful attempt to express appreciable quantities of MCD in active form in E. coli, and the subsequent characterisation of the heterologously expressed material. We find that the properties of this material closely match the previously reported properties of MCD produced from Achromobacter WM111. This includes the presence of two distinct forms of the enzyme that we show are most likely due to the presence of two functional translational start sites. The purified enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of a carbamate (carbaryl), a carboxyl ester (alpha-naphthyl acetate) and a phophotriester (dimethyl umbelliferyl phosphate) and it is relatively resistant to thermal and solvent-mediated denaturation. The robust nature and catalytic promiscuity of MCD suggest that it could be exploited for various biotechnological applications.