Preclinical Assessment of IgY Antibodies Against Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 RBD Protein for Prophylaxis and Post-Infection Treatment of COVID-19.

Within the framework of the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is a race against time to find therapies for the outbreak to be controlled. Since vaccines are still tedious to develop and partially available for low-income countries, passive immunity based on egg-yolk antibodies (IgY) is presented as a suitable approach to preclude potential death of infected patients, based on its high specificity/avidity/production yield, cost-effective manufacture, and ease of administration. In the present study, IgY antibodies against a recombinant RBD protein of SARS-CoV-2 were produced in specific-pathogen-free chickens and purified from eggs using a biocompatible method. In vitro immunoreactivity was tested, finding high recognition and neutralization values. Safety was also demonstrated prior to efficacy evaluation, in which body weight, kinematics, and histopathological assessments of hamsters challenged with SARS-CoV-2 were performed, showing a protective effect administering IgY intranasally both as a prophylactic treatment or a post-infection treatment. The results of this study showed that intranasally delivered IgY has the potential to both aid in prevention and in overcoming COVID-19 infection, which should be very useful to control the advance of the current pandemic and the associated mortality.

Intranasal vaccination of hamsters with a Newcastle disease virus vector expressing the S1 subunit protects animals against SARS-CoV-2 disease.

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has already claimed millions of lives and remains one of the major catastrophes in the recorded history. While mitigation and control strategies provide short term solutions, vaccines play critical roles in long term control of the disease. Recent emergence of potentially vaccine-resistant and novel variants necessitated testing and deployment of novel technologies that are safe, effective, stable, easy to administer, and inexpensive to produce. Here we developed three recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) vectored vaccines and assessed their immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in mice and hamsters. Intranasal administration of rNDV-based vaccine candidates elicited high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Importantly, the nasally administrated vaccine prevented lung damage, and significantly reduced viral load in the respiratory tract of vaccinated animal which was compounded by profound humoral immune responses. Taken together, the presented NDV-based vaccine candidates fully protected animals against SARS-CoV-2 challenge and warrants evaluation in a Phase I human clinical trial as a promising tool in the fight against COVID-19.

Pyrazinamide-isoniazid hybrid: synthesis optimisation, characterisation, and antituberculous activity / Híbrido pirazinamida-isoniacida: optimización de síntesis, caracterización y actividad antituberculosa / Híbrido pirazinamida-isoniazida: otimização da síntese, caracterização e atividade antituberculose

Abstract Over time, the effective resistance mechanisms to various first- and second-line drugs against the disease of tuberculosis make its treatment extremely difficult. This work presents a new approach to synthesizing a hybrid of antituberculosis medications: isoniazid (INH) and pyrazinamide (PZA). The synthesis was performed using ultrasound-assisted synthesis to obtain an overall yield of 70%, minimizing the reaction time from 7 to 1 h. The evaluation of the biological activity of the hybrid (compound 2) was tested using the tetrazolium microplate assay (TEMA), showing inhibition in the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv at a concentration of 0.025 mM at pH 6.0 and 6.7.

Resumen Debido a los grandes mecanismos de resistencia a lo largo del tiempo de diversos fármacos de primera y segunda línea contra la enfermedad de la tuberculosis, el tratamiento sigue dificultándose. Este trabajo presenta un nuevo enfoque para sintetizar un híbrido de fármacos antituberculosos: isoniazida (INH) y pirazinamida (PZA). La síntesis fue asistida por ultrasonido con el fin de obtener un rendimiento global del 70%, minimizando el tiempo de reacción de 7 a ' h. La evaluación de la actividad biológica del híbrido (compuesto 2) se probó usando el ensayo de microplaca de tetrazolio (TEMA), que mostró una inhibición en el crecimiento de Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv a una concentración de 0,025 mM a pH 6,0 y 6,7.

Resumo Devido aos grandes mecanismos de resistência ao longo do tempo a diversos fármacos de primeira e segunda linha contra a tuberculose, o que torna seu tratamento extremamente difícil. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem para sintetizar um híbrido de fármacos antituberculose: isoniazida (INH) e pirazinamida (PZA) A síntese foi realizada utilizando a síntese assistida por ultrassom de forma a obter um rendimento global de 70%, minimizando o tempo de reação de 7 h para ' h. A avaliação da atividade biológica do híbrido (composto 2) foi testada utilizando o ensaio de microplaca de tetrazólio (TEMA), mostrando uma inibição no crescimento de Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv na concentração de 0,025 mM em pH 6,0 e 6,7.