Long Covid: Untangling the Complex Syndrome and the Search for Therapeutics.

Long Covid can affect anyone who has previously had acute COVID-19. The root causes of this syndrome are still unknown, and no effective therapeutics are available. This complex syndrome, with a wide array of symptoms, is still evolving.

Mitigating Covid-19 in the face of emerging virus variants, breakthrough infections and vaccine hesitancy.

The emergence and rapid global spread of the new Delta and, more recently, Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 pose a daunting public health emergency. Being an RNA virus, the Covid-19 virus is continuing to mutate, resulting in the emergence of new variants with high transmissibility, such as the recently discovered Omicron variant. In this paper, we consider the conditions that may facilitate viral mutations and the emergence of variants with the ability to evade immunity.

Efforts at COVID-19 Vaccine Development: Challenges and Successes.

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus (CoV), throughout the globe poses a daunting public health emergency. Different preventive efforts have been undertaken in response to this global health predicament; amongst them, vaccine development is at the forefront. Several sophisticated designs have been applied to create a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, and 44 candidates have already entered clinical trials.

A review of Zika virus: hurdles toward vaccine development and the way forward.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic has recently emerged as a public health threat due to its teratogenic nature and association with the serious neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). To date, no approved antiviral therapeutics to treat, nor vaccines to prevent, ZIKV infection are available. In order to develop effective anti-ZIKV vaccines, improved animal models and a better understanding of immunological correlates of protection against ZIKV are required.

CD4 T cells from multiple sclerosis patients respond to a commensal-derived antigen.

Multiple sclerosis, an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system, is characterized by the impaired function of regulatory cells that fail to suppress self-reactive effector cells. We have previously found that polysaccharide A, a capsular antigen derived from the human gut commensal , can induce a population of regulatory T cells. Herein, we demonstrate that naïve T cells isolated from patients with multiple sclerosis have the capacity to acquire regulatory characteristics when stimulated with polysaccharide A.

Alteration of CD39+Foxp3+ CD4 T cell and cytokine levels in EAE/MS following anti-CD52 treatment.

While examining the therapeutic value of anti-CD52 antibody against EAE/MS, we identified a unique subset of CD39+ Tregs in repopulating GALT tissues, a major lymphoid reservoir, which was accompanied by amelioration of disease. Furthermore, anti-CD52 treatment leads to increased expression of BDNF, IL-10, and SMAD3 in the brains of EAE mice. This condition is associated with suppression of IL-17, a critical inflammatory factor in EAE/MS progression.