98%
921
2 minutes
20
The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. It will take years to vaccinate the whole population to protect them from this deadly virus, hence the management of SARS-CoV-2 largely depends on the widespread availability of an accurate diagnostic test. Toward addressing the unmet need of a reliable diagnostic test in the current work by utilizing the power of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment, a 44-mer G-quadruplex-forming DNA aptamer against spike trimer antigen of SARS-CoV-2 was identified. The lead aptamer candidate (S14) was characterized thoroughly for its binding, selectivity, affinity, structure, and batch-to-batch variability by utilizing various biochemical, biophysical, and techniques. S14 has demonstrated a low nanomolar K, confirming its tight binding to a spike antigen of SARS-CoV-2. S14 can detect as low as 2 nM of antigen. The clinical evaluation of S14 aptamer on nasopharyngeal swab specimens (n = 232) has displayed a highly discriminatory response between SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from the non-infected one with a sensitivity and specificity of ∼91% and 98%, respectively. Importantly, S14 aptamer-based test has evinced a comparable performance with that of RT-PCR-based assay. Altogether, this study established the utility of aptamer technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8223116 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2021.06.014 | DOI Listing |
Objective: .Aim: To investigate the pathomorphological changes in the terminal chorionic villi during COVID-19 in pregnant women.
Patients And Methods: Materials and Methods: A total of 123 placentas were studied in cases of live term births (groups І) and antenatal asphyxia (groups ІІ).
Front Immunol
September 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R) encephalitis is a neuropsychiatric disorder with additional psychiatric features caused by NMDA-R immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This report presents the follow-up of a patient in whom we assumed mild NMDA-R encephalitis in the first psychotic episode.
Case Study: A patient with a prior episode of an acute polymorphic psychotic syndrome relapsed five and a half years later following a severe COVID-19 infection.
Open Forum Infect Dis
September 2025
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Plasma samples obtained approximately 3 ( = 100) and 12 months ( = 78) after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection were tested for S1, spike, and N antigens. There were no significant differences in plasma proteins or single-cell protein expression levels on immune cells between those with and without plasma antigen detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Public Health
September 2025
Real World Evidence, The Data Analytics Taskforce, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The future European Health Data Space (EHDS), a network for secure cross-border data use, could be beneficial for public health initiatives. The HealthData@EU pilot project evaluated possibilities of secondary data use based on five use cases and established a pilot IT infrastructure. This article reports overarching experiences from two public health use cases and the IT development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Glob Public Health
September 2025
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) - Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP), Kilifi, Kenya.
Background: Between November 2023 and March 2024, coastal Kenya experienced another wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections detected through our continued genomic surveillance. Herein, we report the clinical and genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections from 179 individuals (a total of 185 positive samples) residing in the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS) area (~ 900 km).
Methods: We analyzed genetic, clinical, and epidemiological data from SARS-CoV-2 positive cases across pediatric inpatient, health facility outpatient, and homestead community surveillance platforms.