Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine
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Review
Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Vaccines for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 - A Review.
The mRNA therapeutics have been studied since the 1970s and the currently available mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are the culmination of decades of scientific research. The mRNA vaccines BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 have played a key role in our global response to the COVID-19 pandemic as they have demonstrated significant advantages over conventional vaccines and have proven to be highly effective against COVID-19 associated hospitalization and severe illness in large clinical trials and studies using real-world data.
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The remarkable success of SARS CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines and the ensuing interest in mRNA vaccines and therapeutics have highlighted the need for a scalable clinical-enabling manufacturing process to produce such products, and robust analytical methods to demonstrate safety, potency, and purity. To date, production processes have either not been disclosed or are bench-scale in nature and cannot be readily adapted to clinical and commercial scale production. ⋯ Finally, we discuss continued challenges in raw material identification, sourcing and supply, and the cold chain requirements for mRNA therapeutic and vaccine products. While ultimate solutions have yet to be elucidated, we discuss approaches that can be taken that are aligned with regulatory guidance.
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Meta Analysis
Differential Expression of Members of SOX Family of Transcription Factors in Failing Human Hearts.
The Sry-related high-mobility-group box (SOX) gene family, with 20 known transcription factors in humans, plays an essential role during development and disease processes. Several SOX proteins (SOX4, 11, and 9) are required for normal heart morphogenesis. SOX9 was shown to contribute to cardiac fibrosis. ⋯ Using a meta-analysis combining epigenetics and genome-wide association data, we reported several genomic variants associated with HF phenotype linked to SOX4 or SOX8. In summary, our results implicate that SOX4 and SOX8 have a role in cardiomyopathy, leading to HF in humans. The molecular mechanism associated with them in HF warrants further investigation.
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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a highly pathogenic human coronavirus (CoV). Belonging to the same beta-CoV genus as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1) and SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV has a significantly higher fatality rate with limited human-to-human transmissibility. MERS-CoV causes sporadic outbreaks, but no vaccines have yet been approved for use in humans, thus calling for continued efforts to develop effective vaccines against this important CoV. ⋯ Here, we illustrate the importance of the MERS-CoV S protein as a key vaccine target and provide an update on the currently developed MERS-CoV vaccines, including those based on DNAs, proteins, virus-like particles or nanoparticles, and viral vectors. Additionally, we describe approaches for designing MERS-CoV mRNA vaccines and explore the role and importance of naturally occurring pseudo-nucleosides in the design of effective MERS-CoV mRNA vaccines. This review also provides useful insights into designing and evaluating mRNA vaccines against other viral pathogens.
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Individuals with evening chronotypes are prone to suffer chronodisruption and display worse lifestyle habits than morning-types, exhibiting higher cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, it is unknown whether CVD patients, who are evening chronotypes, have higher cardiometabolic risk than morning-types. This study explored whether individual chronotypes were associated with cardiometabolic risk in patients from the CORDIOPREV study (n = 857). ⋯ Moreover, they were more sedentary, displayed less and delayed physical activity and ate and slept later. In addition, evening-types had lower amplitude, greater fragmentation, lower robustness and less stable circadian pattern at TAP (P < 0.01), all related to a less healthy circadian pattern. In conclusion, evening-types with CVD had higher cardiometabolic risk and less robust circadian-related rhythms than morning-types, regardless of the nutritional intervention.