Publications by authors named "Maricela Torres"
Article Synopsis
- Favipiravir, a ribonucleoside analogue, shows promise as a treatment for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), but mixed results in clinical trials have delayed its regulatory approval.
- Recent studies in immune competent mouse and guinea pig models found that a dose of 300 mg/kg/day of favipiravir for 8 days effectively prevented lethal EVD-like disease, regardless of the route of administration and dosing schedule.
- The findings support further development of favipiravir as a potential therapeutic option against EVD, with encouraging preclinical data indicating reduced mortality in guinea pigs after EBOV challenges.
Molnupiravir (EIDD-2801) is a prodrug of a ribonucleoside analogue that is currently being used under a US FDA emergency use authorization for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. We evaluated molnupiravir for efficacy as an oral treatment in the rhesus macaque model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Twenty non-human primates (NHPs) were challenged with SARS-CoV-2 and treated with 75 mg/kg (n = 8) or 250 mg/kg (n = 8) of molnupiravir twice daily by oral gavage for 7 days.
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- SC31 is a powerful neutralizing antibody against SARS-CoV-2, developed from a patient who recovered from COVID-19, displaying strong efficacy in various animal models.
- It works by targeting a specific site on the Spike protein of the virus, reducing viral loads and inflammation in infected mice and hamsters, and achieving undetectable viral levels in rhesus macaques.
- The effectiveness of SC31 is enhanced by its interactions with immune system components and exhibits a dose-dependent response, showing therapeutic promise without causing harmful antibody-related effects.
The tick-borne encephalitis complex contains a number of flaviviruses that share close genetic homology, and are responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality with widespread geographical range. Although many members of this complex have been recognised for decades, licenced human vaccines with broad availability are only available for tick-borne encephalitis virus. While tick-borne encephalitis virus vaccines have been demonstrated to induce significant protective immunity, as determined by virus-neutralisation titres, vaccine breakthrough (clinical infection following complete vaccination), has been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWest Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes febrile illness, encephalitis, and occasionally death in humans. The envelope protein is the main component of the WNV virion surface, and domain III of the envelope protein (EIII) is both a putative receptor binding domain and a target of highly specific, potently neutralizing antibodies. Envelope E-332 (E-332) is known to have naturally occurring variation and to be a key determinant of neutralization for anti-EIII antibodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Flaviviruses are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses responsible for millions of human infections annually. The envelope (E) protein of flaviviruses comprises three structural domains, of which domain III (EIII) represents a discrete subunit. The EIII gene sequence typically encodes epitopes recognized by virus-specific, potently neutralizing antibodies, and EIII is believed to play a major role in receptor binding.
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