Does COVID-19 infect peripheral blood cells?

The emergence of the novel coronavirus outbreak in December 2019 was followed by its spread on a global scale unparalleled in the last 100 years. At present, it has claimed over 322,000 lives the world over, with over 4.88 million cases having tested positive.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequence was first uploaded in early 2020, but as of now, over 17,000 genomes have been sequenced from viral strains isolated all over the world. This allows for rapid RNA screening in human tissues as well as environmental samples.

Detection of Virus in Human Blood or Blood Cells

The current study by researchers in Cairo, Egypt, and published on the preprint server medRxiv* was designed to test for the presence of the virus in human blood or any blood cells, which could allow the virus to hide from the immune system or to be trafficked to other organs. It is especially relevant given some (doubtful) reports that the virus could infect lymphocytes.

Other scientists have claimed that the virus perhaps attacks hemoglobin, or that it is to be found in the blood of infected patients, or the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs), as is the case with other infectious viruses like hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.

The current study, therefore, used computational analysis on three genome sequences from PBMCs from active COVID-19 patients, three from healthy donor PBMCs, and two from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) from patients. They found that traces and large amounts of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in the PMBCs and BAL, respectively.

Viral RNA in Blood Cells

The results showed that the BAL and PBMC samples were widely separated, as expected, while the PBMCs from healthy and patient samples were slightly separated for the most part. Viral RNA was present in all the BALF sequences at 2.15% of the total reads (median). The PBMC of one patient also showed two reads that matched the SAR-CoV-2 protein and surface glycoprotein.

Earlier studies showed that with the use of RT-PCR, CoV-RNA was found in plasma samples from COVID-19 patients, but they did not confirm the presence of infectious viral particles in the blood. For this reason, they called their finding ‘RNAemia’ rather than viremia.

The current report is, however, the first to show the presence of viral RNA in PBMC. In fact, a prior study that examined RNA isolated from PBMC made it clear that no viral sequences were found.
The researchers used high-throughput sequencing, which has been demonstrated to be effective in identifying and measuring the number of viral particles in the blood. For this reason, they used this method to do a comprehensive search for viral RNA sequences within the only public dataset now available. They found that viral RNA was present within all BAL samples, at a concentration of 2.15% of the total RNA. Two RNA reads corresponded to the SARS-CoV-2 genome. However, as expected, the PBMC from the controls did not contain any RNA.

Implications

Though the amount of viral RNA is small, it is undoubtedly that of the SARS-CoV-2. One of the reads encodes a polyprotein, which takes part in viral transcription and replication, and which is the largest of the coronavirus proteins. Another encoded the spike protein, which is responsible for the viral entry into human cells that carry the ACE2 molecule receptor.

The possibility is always alive that the viral RNA reads are the result of cross-contamination or one barcode bleeding into another. However, this is a rare chance because none of the control samples showed similar correspondence. Again, they could be the result of virus sampling by antigen-presenting cells, especially dendritic cells, or virus presentation to T cells, which form part of the PBMC population.

There is a third possibility, which can be analyzed only with a much larger number of samples. This is that the virus may have been engulfed either on purpose or by accident by one of the PBMCs. This occurrence could be one mechanism for chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the theory must be tested rigorously.

One hypothesis that is not supported by the current experiment is T cell targeting by the virus in vivo, which arose from an earlier cell culture experiment using pseudotyped viruses.

The current experiment will help to take the present understanding of the progress and replication of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans.

 

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Israeli disinfectant kills 100% of viruses, bacteria

A state-of-the-art disinfectant developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research and distributed by Tera Novel is capable of killing 100% of bacteria, viruses, molds and some fungi, including the novel coronavirus.

“Our disinfectant works in a very different way from many others,” Tera Novel chairwoman Karen Cohen Khazon told The Jerusalem Post. “We also use hypochlorite, but in a very high [concentration] and we add some [additional ingredients] so that anywhere the disinfectant is sprayed, it becomes a very white film of gel which keeps the [material] on the surface for a while.”

A state-of-the-art disinfectant developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research and distributed by Tera Novel is capable of killing 100% of bacteria, viruses, molds and some fungi, including the novel coronavirus.

“Our disinfectant works in a very different way from many others,” Tera Novel chairwoman Karen Cohen Khazon told The Jerusalem Post. “We also use hypochlorite, but in a very high [concentration] and we add some [additional ingredients] so that anywhere the disinfectant is sprayed, it becomes a very white film of gel which keeps the [material] on the surface for a while.”

The technology was originally developed for and used by the IDF and Israel’s security forces, and was later transferred for use by the US army, as well. It is, for the most part, kept in emergency warehouses until the need arises: a need much like the coronavirus pandemic.

Tera Novel plans on continuing to provide the disinfectant to other organizations in the public arena such as “hospitals spas, mikvaot, [retirement homes] and others that are contaminated by nature,” Khazon said.

A pilot was already in effect in an Israeli hospital, she told the Post, and will move into retirement homes soon. They are also working on a deal with Israeli gyms.

“It’s an Israeli state-of-the-art technology to disinfect and terminate all the environmental infections and today, when we need to get rid of the coronavirus and other viruses, it’s very good that Israel and the Israel Biological Institute with Tera Novel could take this product and move it from defense and army and security development to civilian life,” Khazon told the Post. “It can help people go back to normal life.”

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There is no going back: Coronavirus will not let the world return to its ways, ever

The global Coronavirus pandemic has pushed humans indoors, with billions of us being put under enforced lockdowns. Even as an insidious virus strain is continuously challenging previously held notions of human invincibility, not to mention our sense of self worth when it comes to science and technology, there is almost a large consensus that we as a race will eventually overcome the pandemic. That being said, will the world return to being what it was like, say, in January 2020? The chances are bleak.

The Coronavirus pandemic is bound to bring about behavioural changes within humans around the world, drastic in some countries, and perhaps, barely noticeable in others. The focus, of course, being individual behavioural changes. Having said that, the larger political, environmental and economic change in mindset cannot be negated as well. Hyperbolic ideas of globalization and a ‘world without borders’ have already fallen like a pack of cards. Pollution levels have fallen drastically, for the good. Being ignorant about climate change does no good to anybody. Which means that post the pandemic, humans will be more sympathetic to mother earth and how we treat it. Are we willing to give up on the clean Ganga and Yamuna so easily? Ask any Indian, and the answer will be no.

Larger changes–geopolitically, environmentally or otherwise, will all be effected only after humans individually change their behaviour for the better. After natural calamities, pandemics and drastic changes in the world order, behavioural changes of humans have always come to the fore. The latest example being the SARS outbreak in the early 2000’s.

A study of people quarantined during the time of the SARS outbreak because of potential contact noted that 54 per cent of people who had been quarantined avoided people who were coughing or sneezing, 26 per cent avoided crowded enclosed places, and 21 per cent avoided all public spaces in the weeks following the quarantine period.

Once we have overcome Coronavirus, Indians are bound to realize the futility of unnecessarily touching almost anybody they come across, by means of a simple handshake or hug. A large-scale reversion to the traditional ‘Namaste’ is what can definitely be expected.

While physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle was generally taken casually by us, in the months after novel Coronavirus is tamed, people will definitely realise the importance of being healthy and fit. Yoga is expected to witness a bump in popularity. Moreover, it is a known fact that people with a strong immune system are better placed to overcome such virus-related diseases. Therefore, it is only but expected for people to take a turn towards Ayurveda, and traditional Indic methods of immunity-boosting.

Social distancing is here to stay. The dangers posed by close contact with hundreds, possibly thousands of individuals is a scary thought to say the least. Will the people commuting daily by the Mumbai locals deem it normal to be among a crowd of hundreds in one coach? This is the time the authorities work on alternatives, and tap into the developed symptoms of everyone to maintain social distancing on all fronts. Research already suggests that in absence of a vaccine, social distancing norms must be followed till 2022, at least!

Self-hygiene is perhaps one trait that everybody has developed, and will continue practicing even in the absence of a public health crisis. Washing one’s hands at regular intervals has become an indisputable rule in households.  Moreover, the usage of hand sanitizers in public places is also expected to be adopted at a large-scale by everyone. This, in the absence of a raging pandemic will also go a long way in preventing other common communicable diseases from spreading. Facial masks will also be seen being used by many in the months following the world’s recovery from Coronavirus.

Work from home is proving to be just as good as work from workspaces. The IT sector, media and other related industries are seeing large swathes of employees working from home, with just as much efficacy as they would from their offices. As a result, enhanced leniency for setting up work-from-home environments are expected both from the government, as well as respective employers.

What the coming times hold for privacy policies of various governments is no hard guess to take. While governments will pitch for enhanced surveillance mechanisms and lenient privacy policies, the usual outraged citizenry is sure to resist such moves. However, a shakeup in the same is inevitable.

The consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and other illegally legal intoxicants has taken a hit too. These commodities have not been classified as ‘essentials’, resulting in people not getting their hands on these easily. This is an opportune time to get rid of, or at least minimize one’s consumption of the same. While reports of people suffering from withdrawal symptoms are plenty, will the lockdown go a long way in helping people overcome their addictions is something to be seen in the coming months.

All this being said, behavioural changes among humans are inevitable. As of now, the expected changes will go a long way in enhancing a healthy lifestyle, in which people are aware of the catastrophic consequences of carelessness and indifference. We are bound to emerge as a more aware and considerate society.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Young men who are taller may have lower risk of dementia in old age: Study

In an attempt to assess specific types of individuals at the risk of developing dementia, a study has revealed that men who are relatively taller during their young adulthood are less likely to suffer from this debilitating condition in their old age.

This finding can help people take preventive measures or plan for their future care. The study indicates that young adult height might be one potential risk factor to consider. The study was published in the journal eLife.

Previous studies have suggested that height may be a risk factor for dementia, but much of this research was not able to take into account genetic, environmental, or other early-life factors that may be linked to both height and dementia.

"We wanted to see if body height in young men is associated with diagnosis of dementia while exploring whether intelligence test scores, educational level, and underlying environmental and genetic factors shared by brothers explain the relationship," says lead author Terese Sara Hoj Jorgensen, Assistant Professor at the Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, in Denmark.

To do this, Jorgensen and her colleagues analysed data on 666,333 Danish men born between 1939 and 1959, including 70,608 brothers and 7,388 twins, from Danish national registries. They found a total of 10,599 men who developed dementia later in life.

Their adjusted analysis of this group showed that there was about a 10 per cent reduction in the risk of developing dementia for about every 6cm of height in individuals above the average height. When the team took into account the potential role of intelligence or education, the unadjusted relationship between height and dementia risk was only slightly reduced.

They found that the relationship between height and dementia also existed when they looked at brothers with different heights, suggesting that genetics and family characteristics alone do not explain why shorter men had a greater dementia risk.

This was also true when they studied data concerning twins, although the results for this group were less certain.

"A key strength of our study is that it adjusted for the potential role of education and intelligence in young men's dementia risk, both of which may build up cognitive reserve and make this group less vulnerable to developing dementia," explains senior author Merete Osler, Professor at the Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, and at the University of Copenhagen.

'Cognitive reserve' refers to the brain's ability to improvise and solve problems that come up in everyday life. Osler says that adjusting for education and intelligence reduces the likelihood that the relationship between height and dementia is really explained by the cognitive reserve.

"Together, our results point to an association between taller body height in young men and a lower risk of dementia diagnosis later in life, which persists even when adjusted for educational level and intelligence test scores," Osler says. "Our analysis of the data concerning brothers confirms these findings, and suggests the association may have common roots in early-life environmental exposures that are not related to family factors shared by brothers." 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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