malaria Archives - Amazing Health Advances

8 new weapons in the anti-mosquito arsenal

The AHA! Team — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 08:48:05 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Cases of West Nile virus highlight the urgency of dealing with disease-carrying mosquito populations, which are only growing… Cases of West Nile virus in areas of Israel and other countries this summer highlight the urgent need for solutions against female mosquitoes, which are the ones that bite to get blood that helps them produce eggs. If a mosquito becomes infected with a virus from a person or animal it bites, the virus then multiplies in its body. Then the insect becomes a vector, transmitting viruses through saliva deposited when biting your skin. The American Mosquito Control Association estimates that more than 1 million people die each year from mosquito-borne diseases including West Nile, malaria, dengue, Zika, yellow fever and more. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts a rise of these diseases in many parts of North America due to the warming climate that allows mosquitoes to thrive. Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said, “Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favorable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue.” Here’s an overview of ways in which Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs are working to solve this growing problem. In the lab A highly effective, yet natural, skin-coating repellent offering both mechanical and chemical protection is in advanced stages of development at Hebrew University. The formula contains indole, a fragrant extract from flowers, and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), an abundant renewable plant substance. The project grew out of a research collaboration among PhD student Daniel Voignac from the Department of Applied Physics and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; Prof. Yossi Paltiel; Prof. Jonathan Bohbot, head of the university’s Neurobiology Of Insect Olfaction Lab; serial inventor/entrepreneur Prof. Oded Shoseyov and PhD student Evyatar Sar-Shalom.

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Compounds in Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbs May Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infection

AHA Publisher — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 08:00:05 +0000

Lakshmi Supriya, PhD. via News-Medical Net – Using computational methods, a team of researchers identified three compounds in traditional Chinese medicine that could be used against SARS-CoV-2: quercetin, puerarin and kaempferol. Of the three compounds, quercetin showed the highest binding affinity to both the ACE2 receptor and the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and could thus provide a dual synergistic effect. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, infects human hosts by binding with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on their cells, notably the epithelium lining the respiratory tract. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the coronavirus spike protein binds to ACE2 followed by membrane fusion to the host cell, thus allowing the virus to infiltrate the cell and commence replication. Traditional Chinese medicine, widely used for many diseases, showed therapeutic effects during the 2003 SARS-CoV epidemic. The RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 has significant structural homology with SARS-CoV. Although the use of Chinese herbs with modern medicine has shown benefits in COVID-19 patients, several components are present in the herbs and have complex interactions, making it challenging to uncover the molecular mechanisms responsible for its therapeutic effects. Several computational studies have helped predict active compounds in the medicinal herbs with the potential to accelerate traditional medicine-based drug discovery. Finding Potential Compounds Against SARS-CoV-2 Researchers from various institutions in China used computational analysis to discover potential molecule candidates against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacology database, they screened for molecules that could target ACE2. They identified the compound puerarin that could target ACE2. Then, they screened for Chinese herbs that have this compound in the database and found five. Furthermore, since it is thought that compounds in the same herbal medicine have synergistic properties, they expanded their search to include all the compounds in the five herbs to arrive at 41 compounds. Upon analyzing which compounds were present in the maximum number of herbs, they found puerarin was present in all the five herbs, and quercetin and kaempferol were present in three herbs. Next, they predicted potential drug targets of the selected compounds using the database, leading to 240 possible targets. Upon further analysis, they selected puerarin, quercetin, and kaempferol for further study. Next, the authors performed molecular docking analysis to determine potential binding sites and binding affinity to ACE2. All the three compounds could bind on the same region of ACE2, which is located some distance from the binding position of SARS-CoV-2. It is likely the compounds are causing changes in conformations rather than competing with the spike protein to bind to ACE2. Quercetin had the highest binding affinity, forming both strong and weak hydrogen bonds. They also experimentally determined the binding of the three compounds to ACE2 using surface plasmon resonance. Similar to the theoretical analysis, they found quercetin had higher binding affinity to ACE2 than puerarin. They also observed that puerarin affected the binding of spike protein to ACE2, and quercetin almost completely disrupted the spike protein binding to ACE2. Molecular docking analysis showed that quercetin has high binding affinity to the spike protein. Using pathway enrichment analysis for the COVID-19-related genes, they found quercetin affected the immune-modulation and viral infection activities. How the Compounds Affect SARS-CoV-2 All the three compounds tested were found in the herb Radix Bupleuri confirming that compounds in a single herb have synergistic pharmacological properties. The herb is popular in China and has been used to treat flu, inflammation, malaria, and hepatitis B. It is also one of 26 Chinese herbal medicines advised by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to combat COVID-19. Puerarin has been approved for use in China for decades and could be an ideal drug repurposed for its antiviral properties. Although its binding affinity is lower than quercetin, it has a safe dose limit of about 0.5 gram, so it could be used at a high dose to achieve a suitable antiviral effect. It also has beneficial effects on fever, cardiovascular disease, and neurological dysfunction, so it can also be used as an adjuvant to help improve COVID-19 symptoms. Quercetin showed a higher binding affinity to both ACE2 and the RBD of the spike protein. The dual binding effect of quercetin could therefore be synergistic and provide a strong antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, since analysis suggested that quercetin could affect immunomodulation, and because studies have shown patients with severe COVID-19 disease tend to experience cytokine storms, quercetin could help alleviate symptoms in such cases. To read the original article click here.

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Malaria Discovery Could Expedite Antiviral Treatment for COVID-19

AHA Publisher — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 07:00:16 +0000

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University via Newswise – New research into malaria suggests targeting enzymes from the human host, rather than from the pathogen itself, could offer effective treatment for a range of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. The study, conducted by an international team and led by RMIT University’s Professor Christian Doerig, outlines a strategy that could save years of drug discovery research and millions of dollars in drug development by repurposing existing treatments designed for other diseases such as cancer. The approach shows so much promise it has received government funding for its potential application in the fight against COVID-19. The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that the parasites that cause malaria are heavily dependent on enzymes in red blood cells where the parasites hide and proliferate. It also revealed that drugs developed for cancer, and which inactivate these human enzymes, known as protein kinases, are highly effective in killing the parasite and represent an alternative to drugs that target the parasite itself. Lead author, RMIT’s Dr Jack Adderley, said the analysis revealed which of the host cell enzymes were activated during infection, revealing novel points of reliance of the parasite on its human host. “This approach has the potential to considerably reduce the cost and accelerate the deployment of new and urgently needed antimalarials,” he said. “These host enzymes are in many instances the same as those activated in cancer cells, so we can now jump on the back of existing cancer drug discovery and look to repurpose a drug that is already available or close to completion of the drug development process.” As well as enabling the repurposing of drugs, the approach is likely to reduce the emergence of drug resistance, as the pathogen cannot escape by simply mutating the target of the drug, as is the case for most currently available antimalarials. Doerig, Associate Dean for the Biomedical Sciences Cluster at RMIT and senior author of the paper, said the findings were exciting, as drug resistance is one of the biggest challenges in modern healthcare, not only in the case of malaria, but with most infectious agents, including a large number of highly pathogenic bacterial species. “We are at risk of returning to the pre-antibiotic era if we don’t solve this resistance problem, which constitutes a clear and present danger for global public health. We need innovative ways to address this issue,” he said. “By targeting the host and not the pathogen itself, we remove the possibility for the pathogen to rapidly become resistant by mutating the target of the drug, as the target is made by the human host, not the pathogen.” Doerig’s team will now collaborate with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) to investigate potential COVID-19 treatments using this approach, supported by funding from the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund in partnership with the Bio Capital Impact Fund (BCIF). Co-investigator on the grant, Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Dr Julian Druce, from the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) at the Doherty Institute, was part of the team that were first to grow and share the virus that causes COVID-19, and said the research was an important contribution to efforts to defeat the pandemic. Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Professor Peter Revill, Senior Medical Scientist at the Doherty Institute and a leader on Hepatitis B research, said the approach developed by the RMIT team was truly exciting. “This has proven successful for other human pathogens including malaria and Hepatitis C virus, and there are now very real prospects to use it to discover novel drug targets for Hepatitis B and COVID-19,” he said. To read the original article click here.

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Volcanic Glass Spray Shows Promise in Controlling Mosquitoes

AHA Publisher — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 07:00:38 +0000

North Carolina State University via EurekAlert – An indoor residual spray made by combining a type of volcanic glass with water showed effective control of mosquitoes that carry malaria, according to a new study. The findings could be useful in reducing disease-carrying mosquito populations – and the risk of malaria – in Africa. Malaria, an infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes, annually kills some 400,000 people in Africa. The use of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual sprays are the most common and effective methods of reducing mosquito populations in Africa. But mosquitoes are becoming increasingly resistant to the commonly used insecticides such as pyrethroids, so the need for alternative safe chemistry to use in controlling mosquitoes is important. The volcanic glass material used in this new intervention is perlite, an industrial mineral most frequently used in building materials and in gardens as a soil additive. The tested insecticide created from perlite, called Imergard WP, can be applied to interior walls and ceilings – and perhaps even inside roofs – as an indoor residual spray. The spray contains no additional chemicals, is not toxic to mammals and will be cost effective. Early results show that mosquitoes do not appear to have resistance to the perlite spray. In the study, North Carolina State University entomologists worked with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Imerys Filtration Minerals Inc. to test Imergard WP. Researchers used the spray in experimental huts in the Republic of Benin (West Africa) to test the effects of the spray on both wild and more susceptible strains of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers used four different tests to verify the efficacy of Imergard WP. Control study huts had no mosquito-prevention spray. In the second group hut walls were coated with a common pyrethroid. Hut walls were sprayed with Imergard WP in the third group, while in the fourth group hut walls were sprayed with a mixture of Imergard WP and the common pyrethroid. Huts with walls treated with Imergard WP, with and without the pyrethroid, showed the largest mosquito mortality rates. Results showed mortality rates of mosquitos alighting on Imergard WP-treated walls were greater than 80% up to five months after treatments, and 78% at six months. The treatments were effective against both susceptible and wild-type mosquitoes. “The statically transferred perlite particles essentially dehydrate the mosquito,” said Mike Roe, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper. “Many die within a few hours of contact with the treated surface. Mosquitoes are not repelled from a treated surface because there is no olfactory mechanism to smell rock.” Huts sprayed with only the common pesticide had mosquito mortality rates of around 40 to 45% over five months, with those rates dropping to 25% in month six of the study. “The processing of perlite as an insecticide is novel,” said David Stewart, commercial development manager for Imerys, the company that created Imergard WP, and co-author of the paper. “This material is not a silver bullet but a new tool that can be considered as part of an insect vector management program.” To read the original article click here.

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