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Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0
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Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0

A special issue of International Journal of Translational Medicine (ISSN 2673-8937).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 20116

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yoshiyasu Takefuji

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Data Science Department, Musashino University, Tokyo 1358181, Japan
Interests: cyber-security; neural computing; energy harvesting; IoT; AI; applied mathematics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urgent action is needed against the COVID-19 pandemic, as variants due to spike mutations and immune escape are spreading globally. A total of 6,357,751 deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported worldwide as of July 1, 2022. Vaccines are available to the public but are not sufficient to mitigate the pandemic. Translational medicine should play an important role in mitigating and ending the pandemic. This Special Issue presents data science results and strategies to mitigate and end the pandemic from the perspective of translational medicine.

Any research on how to mitigate the pandemic is welcome.

Prof. Dr. Yoshiyasu Takefuji
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Translational Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • data science
  • mitigating the pandemic
  • vaccines
  • pharmacological/non-pharmacological approach

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 12000 KiB  
Article
A New HRCT Score for Diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia: A Single-Center Study with 1153 Suspected COVID-19 Patients in the Emergency Department
by Soccorsa Sofia, Giacomo Filonzi, Leonardo Catalano, Roberta Mattioli, Laura Marinelli, Elena Siopis, Laura Colì, Violante Mulas, Davide Allegri, Carlotta Rotini, Beatrice Scala, Alessio Bertini, Michele Imbriani, Michele Domenico Spampinato and Paolo Orlandi
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2023, 3(4), 399-415; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3040028 - 30 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1879
Abstract
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting millions of people worldwide. Chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is commonly used as a diagnostic test for suspected COVID-19; however, despite numerous attempts, there is no single scoring system that is widely accepted and used [...] Read more.
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting millions of people worldwide. Chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is commonly used as a diagnostic test for suspected COVID-19; however, despite numerous attempts, there is no single scoring system that is widely accepted and used in clinical practice to estimate the probability of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The aim of this single-center retrospective study is to develop a radiological score to predict the probability of COVID-19 with HRCT. Patients admitted to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 who underwent both HRCT and RT-PCR on nasopharyngeal swab to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 March and 30 April 2020 were included. A multivariable regression analysis was conducted to identify all HRCT signs independently associated with a positive RT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 and build the HRCT score. A total of 1153 patients were enrolled in this study. The number of segments with ground glass opacities (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.11–1.26), number of segments with linear opacities (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.05–1.42), crazy paving patterns (OR 6, 95% CI 3.79–9.76), and vascular ectasia in each segment (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.1.5–5.8) were included in the score. The HRCT score showed high discriminatory power (area under the ROC curve of 0.8267 [95% CI 0.8–0.85]) with 72.2% sensitivity, 86.6% specificity, 78% PPV, and 83% NPV for its best cut-off. In summary, the HRCT score has good diagnostic and discriminatory accuracy for COVID-19 and is easy and quick to perform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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15 pages, 1836 KiB  
Article
Screening and Druggability Analysis of Marine Active Metabolites against SARS-CoV-2: An Integrative Computational Approach
by Selvakumar Murugesan, Chinnasamy Ragavendran, Amir Ali, Velusamy Arumugam, Dinesh Kumar Lakshmanan, Palanikumar Palanichamy, Manigandan Venkatesan, Chinnaperumal Kamaraj, Juan Pedro Luna-Arias, Fernández-Luqueño Fabián, Safir Ullah Khan, Zia ur-Rehman Mashwani and Muhammad Younas
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2023, 3(1), 27-41; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3010003 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2718
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have triggered a recent pandemic of respiratory disease and affected almost every country all over the world. A large amount of natural bioactive compounds are under clinical investigation for various diseases. In particular, marine natural [...] Read more.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have triggered a recent pandemic of respiratory disease and affected almost every country all over the world. A large amount of natural bioactive compounds are under clinical investigation for various diseases. In particular, marine natural compounds are gaining more attention in the new drug development process. The present study aimed to identify potential marine-derived inhibitors against the target proteins of COVID-19 using a computational approach. Currently, 16 marine clinical-level compounds were selected for computational screening against the 4 SARS-CoV-2 main proteases. Computational screening resulted from the best drug candidates for each target based on the binding affinity scores and amino acid interactions. Among these, five marine-derived compounds, namely, chrysophaentin A (−6.6 kcal/mol), geodisterol sulfates (−6.6 kcal/mol), hymenidin (−6.4 kcal/mol), plinabulin (−6.4 kcal/mol), and tetrodotoxin (−6.3 kcal/mol) expressed minimized binding energy and molecular interactions, such as covalent and hydrophobic interactions, with the SARS CoV-2 main protease. Using molecular dynamic studies, the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration (ROG), and hydrogen bond (H-Bond) values were calculated for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease with a hymenidin docked complex. Additionally, in silico drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic property assessments of the compounds demonstrated favorable druggability. These results suggest that marine natural compounds are capable of fighting SARS-CoV-2. Further in vitro and in vivo studies need to be carried out to confirm their inhibitory potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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9 pages, 2159 KiB  
Article
COVID-19 Host GenomeDB: A Comprehensive Database Related to COVID-19 Host Genetics
by Bhavya Banjan, Mohammed F. Albeshr, Shahid Mahboob, Irfan Manzoor and Ranajit Das
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2022, 2(3), 355-363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm2030028 - 22 Jul 2022
Viewed by 2755
Abstract
The world is currently faced with a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several genome-wide and exome-wide studies (GWAS and EWAS) have been performed to identify the variability in the host genetic constitution that likely underlines the inter-individual variabilities in COVID-19 severity and [...] Read more.
The world is currently faced with a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several genome-wide and exome-wide studies (GWAS and EWAS) have been performed to identify the variability in the host genetic constitution that likely underlines the inter-individual variabilities in COVID-19 severity and clinical manifestation. Due to the magnitude of the articles available, creating a list of host-specific genetic variants and genes associated with COVID-19 can be both time-consuming and extremely challenging for COVID-19 researchers. To this end, the COVID-19 Host Genome database was built. This is currently the only dedicated, free-to-use database that deals solely with COVID-19 host-specific genetic variants and genes. HyperText Markup language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), and My Structured Query Language (MySQL) server (version 5.7.38) were used to develop the website, storage, and extraction of the data. So far, 787 genetic variants from 63 previously published articles were collected. The tabular data are hyperlinked to the original articles and the users can download all data from the database. COVID-19 Host GenomeDB is being revised constantly every month, and can benefit the research community studying the genetic variants to improve COVID-19 treatment and prevention strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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Review

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15 pages, 1042 KiB  
Review
The Natural History of SARS-CoV-2-Incurred Disease: From Infection to Long COVID
by Kung-Hao Liang, Yuan-Chi Teng, Yi-Ting Liao, Aliaksandr A. Yarmishyn, Su-Hua Chiang, Wei-Chun Hung, Chun-Yen Hsiao, En-Tung Tsai, Tai-Jay Chang, De-Ming Yang and Mong-Lien Wang
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2024, 4(1), 72-86; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm4010004 - 8 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3168
Abstract
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been causing global upheaval since 2019. The widespread administration of vaccines has partially deterred the spread of SARS-CoV-2, yet the virus is mutating its genome to reduce its antigenicity and [...] Read more.
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been causing global upheaval since 2019. The widespread administration of vaccines has partially deterred the spread of SARS-CoV-2, yet the virus is mutating its genome to reduce its antigenicity and evade the human herd immunity. It seems that SARS-CoV-2 will co-exist with the human population for many decades to come. While most infected individuals only experience mild to moderate symptoms, some develop severe pulmonary and systemic disease that can result in hospitalization or even death. The natural history model of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been proposed which includes three sequential stages: the early infection stage, pulmonary stage, and hyper-inflammatory stage. Recently, it has been observed that many people who recovered from an acute infection still experience persistent symptoms for weeks or months, a condition known as long COVID. Furthermore, some COVID-19 patients display escalated rates of both macro- and micro-thrombosis due to endotheliopathy. Hence, we added the thrombosis and convalescent stages to the natural history model, encompassing the entire period from early infection to long COVID. The early infection stage is characterized by symptomatic or asymptomatic elevation of viral titers. Some patients progress to the pulmonary stage characterized by opacities in chest X-rays and computed tomography. The thrombosis stage is characterized by heightened rates of pulmonary thrombosis and consistently elevated D-dimer levels. The hyper-inflammatory stage is characterized by storms of cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-17, and interferons, which is a systemic effect. In the convalescent stage, some people recover completely, while others suffer from long COVID with persistent symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, or brain fog. The natural history model of SARS-CoV-2 infection can be used to elucidate treatment and care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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19 pages, 705 KiB  
Review
Insights into COVID-19 and Its Potential Implications for Kidney Dysfunction
by Adel Abdel-Moneim, Eman H. Bakry and Mohamed Y. Zaky
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2023, 3(2), 255-273; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3020018 - 20 Jun 2023
Viewed by 3129
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has had a significant impact on the world’s demographics, resulting in over 6 million deaths globally. COVID-19 has been associated with a variety of disease manifestations in various organ [...] Read more.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has had a significant impact on the world’s demographics, resulting in over 6 million deaths globally. COVID-19 has been associated with a variety of disease manifestations in various organ systems, including kidney disease, in addition to pulmonary manifestations. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can not only cause new kidney damage but also make treatment and care more difficult, as well as increase mortality in people who already have kidney problems. COVID-19 is indeed associated with a variety of renal pathologies, such as acute tubular necrosis, proteinuria, hematuria, and thrombosis complications. Cytokine storms, hypoxemia, direct viral invasion via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and cathepsin L, electrolyte imbalance, and fever are among the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these clinical symptoms. Over the last two years, many COVID-19 vaccines have been discovered. However, there have been a few case reports of AKI, AKD, proteinuria, edema, gross hematuria, and other renal side effects that necessitated hospitalization after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Thus, the current review aimed to evaluate COVID-19-induced kidney dysfunction in terms of clinical features, pathogenesis, long-term outcomes, and vaccine harms based on the most up-to-date findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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14 pages, 773 KiB  
Review
Analogies between COVID-19 and Preeclampsia: Focus on Therapies
by Valentina Giardini, Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini, Marco Casati, Andrea Carrer and Patrizia Vergani
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2023, 3(2), 203-216; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3020015 - 6 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3223
Abstract
Preeclampsia is an obstetric pathology with striking similarities to COVID-19. The renin-angiotensin system plays a key role in the pathogenesis of both diseases. This report reviews the pharmacological strategies that have been suggested for the prevention and treatment of preeclampsia and that are [...] Read more.
Preeclampsia is an obstetric pathology with striking similarities to COVID-19. The renin-angiotensin system plays a key role in the pathogenesis of both diseases. This report reviews the pharmacological strategies that have been suggested for the prevention and treatment of preeclampsia and that are potentially useful also in the treatment of COVID-19. Of note, both pathologies have in common an Angiotensin II-mediated endothelial dysfunction secondary to an angiogenic imbalance, with effects on vasculature, coagulation, and inflammation. These considerations are drawn from cases of the initial SARS-CoV-2 primary infection and may not apply to more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants or infections after COVID vaccination. The treatment options discussed included albumin infusion, aspirin, corticosteroids, the monoclonal antibody eculizumab, hydroxychloroquine, low molecular weight heparin, magnesium, melatonin, metformin, nitric oxide, proton pump inhibitors, statins, therapeutic apheresis, and vitamin D. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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14 pages, 750 KiB  
Review
The Renal Manifestations of SARS-CoV-2: A Guide for Family Physicians
by Austin P. Morrissey, Nagla Elzinad, Chris El Hayek, Saran Lotfollahzadeh and Vipul C. Chitalia
Int. J. Transl. Med. 2023, 3(1), 81-94; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm3010007 - 22 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1951
Abstract
COVID-19 is a devastating systemic disease characterized by multisystem involvement driven by exuberant hyperinflammatory and dysregulations in coagulation. In COVID-19 patients, renal failure contributes to morbidity and mortality, and its early detection and timely management are critical to minimize such untoward and irreversible [...] Read more.
COVID-19 is a devastating systemic disease characterized by multisystem involvement driven by exuberant hyperinflammatory and dysregulations in coagulation. In COVID-19 patients, renal failure contributes to morbidity and mortality, and its early detection and timely management are critical to minimize such untoward and irreversible complications. In the healthcare system, family physicians constitute the first node in the management of patients, yet there is a dearth of reports and guidelines focusing on them for specific organ affection. This review provides an overview of recent studies examining the renal manifestations following SARS-CoV-2 infection. We focus on the tell-tale signs and laboratory findings of renal affection in the pediatric and adult populations with COVID-19, specifically for family practitioners to assist in their appropriate triage. Among different manifestations, urinary abnormalities and a modest increase in creatinine are the early indicators of renal affection in COVID-19 patients. Although renal transplant patients are conventionally managed by specialized teams, they may present to family physicians during a pandemic. This review provides a framework for family physicians to promptly detect early indicators of renal involvement in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, including providing triage guidance for kidney transplant recipients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translational Medicine Approach against the COVID-19 Pandemic 2.0)
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