In this work, two synthetic aurones revealed moderate schistosomicidal potential in in vitro and in vivo assays. Aurones (1) and (2) promoted changes in tegument integrity and motor activity, leading to death of adult Schistosoma mansoni worms in in vitro assays. When administered orally (two doses of 50 mg/kg) in experimentally infected animals, synthetic aurones (1) and (2) promoted reductions of 56.20 % and 57.61 % of the parasite load and stimulated the displacement towards the liver of the remaining adult worms. The oogram analysis revealed that the treatment with both aurones interferes with the egg development kinetics in the intestinal tissue. Seeking an action target for compounds (1) and (2), the connection with NTPDases enzymes, recognized as important therapeutic targets for S. mansoni, was evaluated. Molecular docking studies have shown promising results. The dataset reveals the anthelmintic character of these compounds, which can be used in the development of new therapies for schistosomiasis.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in Wuhan (China) in December (2019) and quickly spread worldwide. Antigen tests are rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) that produce results in 15-30 min and are an important tool for the scale-up of COVID-19 testing. COVID-19 diagnostic tests are authorized for self-testing at home in some countries, including Brazil. Widespread COVID-19 diagnostic testing is required to guide public health policies and control the speed of transmission and economic recovery. Methods: Patients with suspected COVID-19 were recruited at the Hospital da Baleia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests were evaluated from June 2020 to June 2021 using saliva, nasal, and nasopharyngeal swab samples from 609 patients. Patient samples were simultaneously tested using a molecular assay (RT-qPCR). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values were determined using the statistical program, MedCalc, and GraphPad Prism 8.0. Results: The antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests displayed 98% specificity, 60% sensitivity, 96% positive predictive value, and moderate concordance with RT-qPCR. Substantial agreement was found between the two methods for patients tested < 7 days of symptom onset. Conclusions: Our findings support the use of Ag-RDT as a valuable and safe diagnostic method. Ag-RDT was also demonstrated to be an important triage tool for suspected COVID-19 patients in emergencies. Overall, Ag-RDT is an effective strategy for reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and contributing to COVID-19 control.

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There is considerable research to define novel and safe adjuvants for use in vaccine formulations. Here, we focused on a gel-slurry delivery method to drive pro-inflammatory vaccine-specific responses using CpGs as adjuvant. The gel slurry hardens at body temperature, forming a gel matrix depot that releases CpGs and antigen, attracting antigen presenting cells. We vaccinated mice with recombinant Hepatitis B antigen using 8 different adjuvant schemes comparing induction of cytokines and antibody subtypes. We compared delivery using two different gel-slurrys with Alhydrogel (Alum) and Complete Freunds adjuvant (CFA). Each was mixed +/- CpGs. Mice vaccinated with gel slurry plus CpGs had significantly higher vaccine-specific antibody responses than mice vaccinated with antigen and CFA. Recall assays showed cells from mice vaccinated with Alhydrogel or CFA upregulated IL-10 at 72h compared to cells from gel-slurry + CpG vaccinated mice. Similar results were seen for IL-4. CpG use reduced levels of IL-5 to background in all groups compared to elevated levels in CFA. No differences in levels of IFNg and TNF. We are currently assaying for Ag-specific antibody isotype titers. The use of gel slurry plus CpGs to deliver vaccine antigens should have great utility for a number of vaccine formulations. Ultimately, this type of vaccine delivery system may facilitate development of therapeutic vaccines as well as prophylactic.