Page 35 - COVID Newsletter 11 June

known. The study aimed to examine the potential of a recombinant fragment of human SP-D (rfhSP-D) as an inhibitor of replication and infection of SARS-CoV-2. The interaction of rfhSP-D with spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and hACE-2 receptor was predicted via docking analysis. The inhibition of interaction between spike protein and ACE-2 by rfhSP-D was confirmed using direct and indirect ELISA. The effect of rfhSP-D on replication and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 from clinical samples was studied by measuring the expression
of RdRp gene of the virus using qPCR. In-silico interaction studies indicated that three amino acid residues in the RBD of spike of SARS-CoV-2 were commonly involved in interacting with rfhSP-D and ACE-2. Studies using clinical samples of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases (asymptomatic, n=7; symptomatic, n=8; and negative controls n=15) demonstrated that treatment with 1.67 μM rfhSP-D inhibited viral replication by ~5.5 fold and was more efficient than Remdesivir (100 μM). Approximately, a 2-fold reduction in viral infectivity was also observed after treatment with 1.67 μM rfhSP-D. These results conclusively demonstrate that the calcium-independent rfhSP-D mediated inhibition of binding between the receptor binding domain of the S1 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human ACE-2, its host cell receptor, and a significant reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication in-vitro.
Contact Info: uday.kishore@brunel.ac.uk
Website Link:
http://www.nirrh.res.in/publications/?by=title&search=sars https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1165/rcmb.2021-0005OC
Postpartum psychosis in mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A
case series from India
The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing severe damage to the mankind through direct impact on health and also collaterally affecting all aspects of life including the mental health. The impending mental health crisis has attracted the attention of global experts and organisations necessitating the documentation of impact of COVID-19 on mental health, especially among the vulnerable populations. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are known to have increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Earlier studies reported the association of other coronaviruses with a range of psychiatric disorders. However, there is no information on new-onset psychosis in asymptomatic patients or postpartum
women with COVID-19. In the research, three cases of postpartum psychosis (PP) associated with asymptomatic COVID-19 managed at Topiwala National Medical College (TNMC) & B. Y. L. Nair Charitable Hospital (NH). NH is a an academic tertiary care public hospital and a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Mumbai, receiving referrals from all over the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). In the initial phase of three months of COVID-19 pandemic (from 4 April 2020 to 31 July 2020), NH treated three asymptomatic, RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 women with PP. The demographic, clinical characteristics, delivery details and management of COVID-19 mothers with PP are described in the research paper.
Contact Info: nirajdr@hotmail.com, gajbhiyer@nirrh.res.in
Website Link:
http://www.nirrh.res.in/publications/?by=title&search=sars https://sci-hub.do/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102406
VOL. IV ISSUE 4
VIGYAN PRASAR 31
NATION’S S&T EFFORTS AGAINST COVID-19