165 results match your criteria: "Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics[Affiliation]"

Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally since its emergence in 2019. Most SARS-CoV-2 infections generate immune responses leading to rising levels of immunoglobulins (Ig) M, A and G which can be detected using diagnostic tests including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Whilst implying previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, the detection of Ig by ELISA does not guarantee the presence of neutralising antibodies (NAb) that can prevent the virus infecting cells.

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CPC-containing oral rinses inactivate SARS-CoV-2 variants and are active in the presence of human saliva.

J Med Microbiol

February 2022

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Departments of Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK.

The importance of human saliva in aerosol-based transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is now widely recognized. However, little is known about the efficacy of virucidal mouthwash formulations against emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and in the presence of saliva. Mouthwashes containing virucidal actives will have similar inactivation effects against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and will retain efficacy in the presence of human saliva.

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Introduction: Active case finding (ACF) of individuals with tuberculosis (TB) is a key intervention to find the 30% of people missed every year. However, ACF requires screening large numbers of individuals who have a low probability of positive results, typically <5%, which makes using the recommended molecular tests expensive.

Methods: We conducted two ACF surveys (in 2020 and 2021) in high TB burden areas of Lao PDR.

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A key element for the prevention and management of coronavirus disease 2019 is the development of effective therapeutics. Drug combination strategies offer several advantages over monotherapies. They have the potential to achieve greater efficacy, to increase the therapeutic index of drugs and to reduce the emergence of drug resistance.

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Comparative study of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different cell types: Biophysical-computational approach to the role of potential receptors.

Comput Biol Med

March 2022

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Centro de Investigación y Tecnología de Materiales (CITeMA), Laboratorio de Caracterización Molecular y Biomolecular, 4001, Maracaibo, Venezuela. Electronic address:

Cellular susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in the respiratory tract has been associated with the ability of the virus to interact with potential receptors on the host membrane. We have modeled viral dynamics by simulating various cellular systems and artificial conditions, including macromolecular crowding, based on experimental and transcriptomic data to infer parameters associated with viral growth and predict cell susceptibility. We have accomplished this based on the type, number and level of expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), transmembrane serine 2 (TMPRSS2), basigin2 (CD147), FURIN protease, neuropilin 1 (NRP1) or other less studied candidate receptors such as heat shock protein A5 (HSPA5) and angiotensin II receptor type 2 (AGTR2).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study looked into how effective and useful antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) are for detecting SARS-CoV-2 among elite athletes and staff.
  • - Feedback from players and staff indicated that Ag-RDTs were easy to use and a viable testing option.
  • - The study's findings were somewhat limited due to the low number of COVID-19 cases in the teams evaluated, emphasizing the necessity for ongoing assessments of Ag-RDTs in elite sports environments.
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Background: There are an abundance of commercially available lateral flow assays (LFAs) that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Whilst these are usually evaluated by the manufacturer, externally performed diagnostic accuracy studies to assess performance are essential. Herein we present an evaluation of 12 LFAs.

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CYP102A1 (BM3) is a catalytically self-sufficient flavocytochrome fusion protein isolated from , which displays similar metabolic capabilities to many drug-metabolizing human P450 isoforms. BM3's high catalytic efficiency, ease of production and malleable active site makes the enzyme a desirable tool in the production of small molecule metabolites, especially for compounds that exhibit drug-like chemical properties. The engineering of select key residues within the BM3 active site vastly expands the catalytic repertoire, generating variants which can perform a range of modifications.

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Advances in preclinical platforms of for filarial neglected tropical disease drug and diagnostics research.

Front Trop Dis

November 2021

Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics Research and Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK.

The tropical disease, loiasis, caused by the filarial parasite, , has gained prominence in global public health as a cause of excess mortality and a barrier to the elimination of the related prioritized neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, within Central Africa. There are no effective drug cures or vaccines available to treat loiasis safely. Here we review recent advances in loiasis preclinical platform technologies, including novel culturing systems, animal models and innovations in experimental infections of the vector, , that have facilitated access to all filarial life-cycle stages.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT), but their performance varies widely among manufacturers, highlighting the need for evaluation of their limits of detection (LOD).
  • This study evaluated the LOD of 19 Ag-RDTs using live SARS-CoV-2 samples in different conditions, including culture media and swabs stored at -80°C.
  • Fourteen Ag-RDTs met World Health Organization criteria for acceptable LOD, while six were incompatible with certain media and many showed reduced sensitivity after storage, providing important data for future test selection and evaluations.
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Objectives: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a novel air-dried high-resolution melt (HRM) assay to detect eight major extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) (bla and bla groups 1 and 9) and carbapenemase (bla, bla, bla, bla and bla) genes that confer resistance to cephalosporins and carbapenems.

Methods: The assay was evaluated using 439 DNA samples extracted from bacterial isolates from Nepal, Malawi and the UK and 390 clinical isolates from Nepal with known antimicrobial susceptibility. Assay reproducibility was evaluated across five different real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) instruments [Rotor-Gene® Q, QuantStudio 5, CFX96, LightCycler® 480 and Magnetic Induction Cycler (Mic)].

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Onchocerca ochengi male worms implanted in SCID mice and Gerbil: Relationship between microfilaridermia status of cows, nodular worm viability and fertility and worm survival in the rodents.

Exp Parasitol

October 2021

Research Foundation for Tropical Diseases and the Environment (REFOTDE), Buea, Cameroon; Parasite and Vector Research Unit (PAVRU), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon. Electronic address:

Background: Current treatment options for onchocerciasis are sub-optimal, prompting research and development of a safe cure (macrofilaricide). Onchocerca ochengi, a parasite of cattle, is used as a close surrogate for the human parasite O. volvulus in a murine model for pre-clinical screening of macrofilaricides.

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Comparative study of the interaction of ivermectin with proteins of interest associated with SARS-CoV-2: A computational and biophysical approach.

Biophys Chem

November 2021

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Centro de Investigación y Tecnología de Materiales (CITeMA), Laboratorio de Caracterización Molecular y Biomolecular, 4001 Maracaibo, Venezuela. Electronic address:

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has accelerated the study of existing drugs. The mixture of homologs called ivermectin (avermectin-B1a [HB1a] + avermectin-B1b [HB1b]) has shown antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. However, there are few reports on the behavior of each homolog.

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Background: Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that causes high global rates of mortality and morbidity. Although snakebite can cause a variety of pathologies in victims, haemotoxic effects are particularly common and are typically characterised by haemorrhage and/or venom-induced consumption coagulopathy. Antivenoms are the mainstay therapeutic for treating the toxic effects of snakebite, but despite saving thousands of lives annually, these therapies are associated with limited cross-snake species efficacy due to venom variation, which ultimately restricts their therapeutic utility to particular geographical regions.

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Background: Adverse reactions to antivenom considerably complicate the clinical management of snakebite envenomed patients because it necessitates a temporary suspension of life-saving antivenom, increases costs and can compromise patient outcomes. This study sought to explore the association between cattle-herding occupation and ethnic group and the occurrence of early adverse reactions to antivenom.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between the 25th April and 11th July 2011 at the Kaltungo General Hospital in north east Nigeria.

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Synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials, such as 1,2,4-trioxolanes and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes, are promising successors for current front-line antimalarials, semisynthetic artemisinin derivatives. However, limited solubility of second-generation analogues in biological-relevant media represents a barrier in clinical development. We present methodology for the synthesis of nonlinear analogues of second-generation tetraoxane antimalarials E209 and N205 to investigate reduced molecular symmetry on in vitro antimalarial activity and physicochemical properties.

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Anti-Wolbachia drugs for filariasis.

Trends Parasitol

December 2021

Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics, Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK. Electronic address:

The mutualistic association between Wolbachia endosymbionts and their filarial nematode hosts has been exploited as a validated drug target delivering macrofilaricidal outcomes. Limitations of existing antibiotics to scale-up have driven the search for new drugs, which are effective in shorter regimens of 7 days or less. Here, we review the last 14 years of anti-Wolbachia drug discovery by the anti-Wolbachia (A·WOL) consortium, which has screened more than two million compounds, delivering thousands of hit compounds.

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As one of the primary points of entry of xenobiotic substances and infectious agents into the body, the lungs are subject to a range of dysfunctions and diseases that together account for a significant number of patient deaths. In view of this, there is an outstanding need for in vitro systems in which to assess the impact of both infectious agents and xenobiotic substances of the lungs. To address this issue, we have developed a protocol to generate airway epithelial basal-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells, which simplifies the manufacture of cellular models of the human upper airways.

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Currently nitazoxanide is being assessed as a candidate therapeutic for SARS-CoV-2. Unlike many other candidates being investigated, tizoxanide (the active metabolite of nitazoxanide) plasma concentrations achieve antiviral levels after administration of the approved dose, although higher doses are expected to be needed to maintain these concentrations across the dosing interval in the majority of patients. Here an LC-MS/MS assay is described that has been validated in accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

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Article Synopsis
  • Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-HvKP) strains have emerged in Egyptian hospitals, with a focus on understanding the genetic factors behind their antibiotic resistance and virulence.
  • A study analyzed 34 isolates, finding that 31 were resistant, revealing various sequence types, with ST101 being the most common, and identified a notable isolate (EBSI036) carrying multiple antibiotic resistance genes and several plasmids that contribute to its virulence.
  • The findings emphasize the increasing threat of CR-HvKP to public health, as these resistant strains pose serious challenges for treatment and disease management.
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The human disease tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. A quarter of the world's population is estimated to be latently infected. Drug development and screening is slow and costly.

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Background: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, the most common enzymopathy in humans, is prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas where malaria is endemic. Anti-malarial drugs, such as primaquine and tafenoquine, can cause haemolysis in G6PD-deficient individuals. Hence, G6PD testing is recommended before radical treatment against vivax malaria.

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Stable high-density and maternally inherited Wolbachia infections in Anopheles moucheti and Anopheles demeilloni mosquitoes.

Curr Biol

June 2021

Departments of Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology, Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK. Electronic address:

Wolbachia, a widespread bacterium that can reduce pathogen transmission in mosquitoes, has recently been reported to be present in Anopheles (An.) species. In wild populations of the An.

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