Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports
Volume:11 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

The epidemiology of ocular manifestations and associated complications in patients with Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been investigated worldwide. Herein, we aimed to summarize the frequency of ocular symptoms of COVID-19 in the current systematic review and meta-analysis using available literature.

A search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Embase electronic databases to review the systematic literature until August 2021. The Hoy et al., 2012 tool was used to evaluate the quality of studies. For Data extraction, two reviewers blind and independently extracted data from the abstract and full text of the studies included. 95% confidence interval for effect size with random effect model and restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method were calculated. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata/MP v.16 software (The fastest version of Stata).

Initially, 210 studies were retrieved, of which we reviewed the full text of 24 records, and eight were selected for final meta-analysis. The prevalence of redness in patients with COVID-19 was 12.37% (ES, 95% CI -1.11%, 25.85%), and heterogeneity was found (I2 = 99.37%; p <0.001) (High heterogeneity). The prevalence of Ocular manifestations as the first symptom of COVID-19 in patients was 2.63% (ES, 95% CI 1.23%, 4.03%).

This systematic review and meta-analysis found the prevalence of redness, dryness, ocular pain, foreign body sensation, discharge, itching, follicular conjunctivitis, and watering as 12.37%, 26.70%, 30.64%, 14.47%, 19.93%, 8.77%, 12.77%, and 10.23%, respectively.

E. coli heme-utilization (ChuA) protein is an outer membrane protein, which has been shown as an amenable target for vaccine design studies. In the present study, we aimed to identify and characterize the most potent B and T cell epitopes of ChuA protein to unveil its most immunogenic regions. In the present study, homology modeling was invoked to determine the three-dimensional (3D) structure of E. coli heme-utilization protein (ChuA). Thereafter, membrane topology, ligand binding site, surface accessibility, and clefts were assigned for ChuA, Linear and conformational B cell epitopes and T cell epitopes were predicted for ChuA. The 2D and 3D interaction plots between the most potent T cell epitopes and HLA-A020 and HLA-DRB0101 structures were drawn following the molecular docking analyses. Our results indicated that ChuA is heme ligand transporter protein, which forms a common beta-barrel structure. It is located in the membrane via 22 membrane-spanning regions. Residue–based pockets and clefts were identified on the ChuA protein. Immunological analyses revealed 9 highly potent B cell epitopes. Among predicted T cell epitopes 2 most potent epitopes were analyzed for HLA binding via molecular docking. The YSKQPGYG and FAAATTMSY epitopes showed stable interactions with HLA-A020 and HLA-DRB0101. Our immunological, biochemical, and functional analysis highlighted the region of the ChuA protein, which harbors the highest immunogenic properties for vaccination purposes. Our strategy to employ 3D structure prediction and epitope prediction results could be deemed as an amenable approach for efficient vaccine design in various platforms.

Plant diseases result in significant agricultural losses. Traditional methods to control these diseases, such as chemical pesticides and pathogen-resistant cultivars, have significant drawbacks, including deleterious environmental consequences. This study aimed to assess the protective potentials of inoculums and metabolites from growth-promoting rhizobacterial strains against sorghum seedlings infected by plant pathogens. Fifteen rhizobacterial inoculums and metabolites were tested against five plant pathogens (Alternaria sp., Aspergillus niger, Corynespora sp., Fusarium oxysporum, and Xanthomonas campestris) in this study. Four treatment groups were used for the study; infected-only, metabolite- or inoculum-treated-only, infected-treated, and control-group seeds. Following planting, the final germination percentage and the vigor index of seeds in the respective groups were calculated. In general, all the pathogens showed infectivity on the sorghum seeds. In all cases, significantly higher germination percentages and vigor index values were recorded for the treated-only and the infected-treated seeds when compared with the infected-only and the control setups. This was a constant observation irrespective of the pathogens used to simulate infection or the metabolites or inoculums used for treatment. The study highlights the potential of using rhizosphere bacterial strains, particularly PGPR, as biocontrol agents against important plant pathogens. Treating infected seeds with the inoculum or metabolite of these rhizobacterial strains improved seed germination and seedling vigor index compared to the infected, untreated seeds.

Necrotic enteritis (NE), an infection of the gastrointestinal tract of birds, is a major concern of the poultry industry due to its huge economic losses. The disease is caused by the Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens). Due to the ban on antibiotic usage in the poultry industry, the incidence of NE has increased significantly in recent years. We have previously shown that immunization of chickens with a subunit chimeric antigen composed of the most effective C. perfringens toxins in NE pathogenesis (alpha toxin, B-like toxin (NetB), and zinc metallopeptidase (ZMP)) can protect birds against this disease. In the present study, the chickens were subcutaneously immunized by the recombinant protein. Then, the expression profile of cytokines in immunized birds was evaluated. For this purpose, following the immunization regimen, samples were taken from the intestines of the birds, mRNAs were extracted and the expression of four different cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-17, and IL-22) was investigated using quantitative real-time PCR. The mentioned cytokines are representatives of helper T lymphocytes and have roles in several immune system activities, such as cellular, humoral, and mucosal immunity responses, as well as inflammation. According to the results of the cytokine assay, subcutaneously-administered recombinant protein elicited humoral and cellular immune systems but it could not stimulate the mucosal immune system. The candidate vaccine elicited the immune system so that the differences between the adjuvant recombinant protein (Adj-rNAM group) and the control group were significant (p <0.001). The results, in addition to our previous study outputs, indicate that our strategy, after completing adequate investigations, can provide an alternative solution to using antibiotics in NE treatment.

Organophosphorus (OPs) compounds are chemical compounds used in pesticides that contain synthetic esters, amides, and thiol derivatives of phosphoric, and phosphonic acids. The OPs are harmful to humans and animals because of compounds such as parathion. By acting on nerve cells, parathion creates very dangerous cellular oxidative stresses, which in turn activate programmed cell death. In this study, the enzyme Organophosphorus Hydrolase (OPH) having esterase activity was selected with the aim of influencing its reaction product with parathion on the viability of human nerve cells. The neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line was exposed to parathion (700 µg/ml) (≈ 40% reduced cell viability) and the product of OPH esterase reaction (1 µg/ml) with the same parathion concentration for two hours to determine their cytotoxicity (≈ 25% reduced cell viability) by MTT, real-time PCR and flow cytometry techniques. The results revealed that parathion (100 µg/ml) inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity by ≈ 65% while OPH-related product reduced acetylcholinesterase activity by ≈ 26%. Considering the widespread use of OPs in modern agriculture, the OPH can be used to reduce the OPs’ destructive effects and the current study could provide new insight into healthy modern agriculture.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common metabolic, immunological, and reproductive disorder worldwide. Successful therapeutic and management approaches for PCOS remain a challenge. This experimental study was designed to find out the effects of garlic R10 fraction on gonadotropins, oocyte-secreted factors, and oocyte maturation in a PCOS Mouse Model. R10 fraction was obtained from garlic extract and PCOS-induced mice were prepared using estradiol valerate. Treatment with R10 fraction was performed and compared between two the normal and control PCOS groups. The alterations in gonadotropins (LH and FSH), oocyte-secreted factors gene expression (GDF9 and BMP15), and evaluation of histological changes in the ovary were performed. After treatment with R10 fraction, the LH level was increased and conversely the FSH level was decreased in the serum of the PCOS model. Furthermore, PCOS-induced ovaries demonstrated high atrophy and a significant decrease in the number of Graaf. There was also a significant reduction in the GDF9 and BMP15 gene expression levels in the PCOS model compared to the normal group (p <0.001). This study indicates that garlic R10 fraction could modulate PCOS in mice at the systemic level in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and the local level in the ovaries. Accordingly, the R10 fraction can be considered a therapeutic approach to improve PCOS conditions.

Micropropagation of plants in vitro using agar-free medium and bioreactors can reduce costs and make propagation by tissue culture economically feasible. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of glass beads as a support matrix to the micropropagation of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis under both conventional and bioreactor culture systems. In this study, at first, the effect of two support matrices including glass beads and agar on the micropropagation of H. rosa-sinensis was evaluated under a conventional culture system with Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal salt mixture including 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine and 30 g/L sucrose. In another experiment, we assessed the application of glass beads as a support matrix in a temporary immersion bioreactor (GB-TIB), compared with the standard TIB and conventional culture systems (agar and glass beads containing vessels). For root induction, the shoots were subcultured on an MS medium containing 0.2 mg/L indole-3-butyric acids. The results indicated that the plantlets grown on the glass beads either in a conventional culture system or in TIB showed more growth in the measured parameters including shoot length, leaf number, shoot fresh and dry weight, leaf area, chlorophyll content, root length, and root fresh and dry weight compared to plantlets grown in standard TIB and agar-containing cultures. The glass beads have a high potential for use in in vitro conditions as a good support matrix instead of gelling agents and into temporary immersion bioreactor.

The technology of recombinant protein production has revolutionized biological, pharmaceutical, and medical researches. Plants are appropriate systems for the production of recombinant proteins. In the present study, a chimeric gene encoding a chimeric protein containing StxB, Eae, CfaB, and LTB as a candidate vaccine against enterotoxigenic and enterohemorrhagic E. coli, was transferred to the hairy root of the tobacco plant and its expression was analyzed. For this aim, the plant-based codon-optimized gene, which was synthetically cloned in pBI121 binary vector, was transferred into Agrobacterium rhizogenes competent cells. A. rhizogenes cells containing pBI121+secl were transferred into sterile Nicotiana tabaccum plants by direct and indirect methods. Finally, the expression of recombinant protein was analyzed by the ELISA method. The transformation of A. rhizogenes cells and Tobacco plants was confirmed by PCR amplification of a fragment of the chimeric gene with specific primers. SDS-PAGE and ELISA analysis showed the successful expression of the chimeric recombinant protein. In conclusion, it was shown that the hairy roots of tobacco plant is a proper expression system for the recombinant production of SECL protein. The protein can be used for mice's immunization against enterotoxigenic and enterohemorrhagic E. coli strains.