No abstract

Background: Rotaviruses are the cause of acute gastroenteritis and severe diarrheal diseases in children worldwide. Children under the age of five are more susceptible to rotavirus infections. Due to such as the lack of effective drugs and supportive therapy only, the development of new antiviral agents against rotaviruses. Multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is also one of the most challenging Gram-negative bacteria to control and treat due to its antibiotic resistance, particularly in intensive care units. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles against human rotavirus and multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Methods: The standard 50% tissue culture infectious dose method and the real-time polymerase chain reaction assay were used to investigate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on rotaviruses. The well diffusion and the minimum inhibitory concentration method were used to assess the antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles against Acinetobacter baumannii. Results: 300 μg/ml of zinc oxide nanoparticles demonstrated the highest anti-rotavirus effects, resulting in a 3.16 logarithmic decrease in virus infectious titer, and a four-unit increase in the cycle threshold value of the real-time polymerase chain reaction assay compared to the untreated control (P value <0.001 and P value = 0.005, respectively). The diameter of the inhibition zone of zinc oxide nanoparticles solution against Acinetobacter baumannii was 17 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration results of the zinc oxide nanoparticles solution against Acinetobacter baumannii was 1.56 mg/ml. Conclusion: Our findings showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles could be considered a promising antimicrobial compound.

Background: Considering the role of calcium in the replication and morphogenesis of rotaviruses, it is hypothesized that decreased cytosolic calcium levels by using calcium channel blockers can subsequently interfere with rotavirus replication. Objective: The present study investigated the effects of two calcium ion channel blockers, amlodipine and diltiazem, against human rotavirus infection. Method: Cytotoxic effects of the drugs on MA-104 cells were evaluated using the neutral red assay. The effects of amlodipine and diltiazem at non-toxic concentrations on human rotavirus were examined using cytopathic effect inhibition, TCID50, and real-time PCR assays. Results: The highest inhibitory effect was obtained at concentrations of 0.5 μg/ml of amlodipine and 3 μg/ml of diltiazem, leading to 4.6 and 5.5 logarithmic reductions in infectious rotavirus titer and four- and a five-fold increase in the Ct values compared to the virus control, respectively (p-value <0.001). Conversely, infectious rotavirus titers were significantly elevated compared to the virus control at concentrations above 0.9 μg/ml of amlodipine and above 25 μg/ml of diltiazem. Conclusion: Our study suggests that in addition to cardiovascular diseases, calcium channel blockers at their optimal doses may also be used to treat gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus infection

Background: Recently, plant-based medications have been considered promising. Scrophularia has been demonstrated to have antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory effects; however, no evidence of its antiviral potency is available. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether the aqueous extract of Scrophularia Variegata has antiviral activity against rotavirus as the leading cause of severe diarrhea and acute gastroenteritis in children. Methods: The neutral red assay was utilized to assess the cytotoxicity of the aqueous extract on the cell line. Cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition, TCID50 (50% cell culture infectious dose), and real-time PCR assays were performed to determine the extract's impact on human rotavirus at non-toxic dilutions. Results: Cell viability was raised following treatment with the aqueous extract at all dilutions. Rotavirus-induced CPEs were considerably reduced when higher dilutions of the aqueous extract were applied to the infected cells. The most substantial inhibitory effect was observed at the highest dilution with no detectable infectious rotavirus titer using the TCID50 assay and no Ct value using the real-time PCR assay. Conclusion: Our findings show that the aqueous extract of Scrophularia Variegata may be a promising candidate for the treatment of rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis.

Background: Early diagnosis of immunodeficiency virus-1 infection in children and access to treatment for this infection is critical in decreasing infant mortality. Objectives: The aim of the current survey was to determine the presence of HIV-1 genomic RNA in plasma and proviral DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) specimens of neonates born to HIV-infected mothers. Methods: leprevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program were enrolled in this study to compare two different diagnostic methods. After the extraction of viral RNA of plasma and genomic DNA of PBMC specimens, HIV-1 RNA and proviral DNA was tested by amplification of the long terminal repeat (LTR) region of HIV-1 using real-time PCR. Results: Out of 73 evaluated infants, 41 infants (56.2%) were male. The average age of the mothers with HIV-1 infection was 30.7 ± 5.2 (range: 19–47) years. The results revealed that none of the infants were infected with HIV-1, and also all were negative for HIV-1 genomic RNA in plasma specimen and proviral DNA of HIV-1 in PMBC samples. During the present study, 20 infants born to HIV-1 positive mothers who were not included in the PMTCT project were accidentally identified. Four infants (20%) out of these 20 infants were infected with HIV, all were infected with CRF35-AD of HIV, and none carried variants with surveillance drug-resistant mutations. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that two molecular methods of detecting HIV infection (presence of genomic RNA of HIV-1 in plasma and proviral DNA of HIV-1 in PBMC specimens) are completely in agreement with each other, and the PMTCT program is possibly an effective program.