Zoonosis at the Huanan Seafood Market: A Critique

Since the Hunan Seafood Market (HSM) in Wuhan, China was first suggested as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic in late January 2020, debate has continued over the evidence supporting this claim. Here, we assess the evidence provided in support of zoonotic spillover at the HSM as the origin of human infection of SARS-CoV-2. We find that the datasets and analyses put forward in support of zoonosis are biased, and lack sufficient verifiable data to support this hypothesis. The earliest COVID-19 case at the HSM was not at or near a wildlife stall, the distribution of cases at the HSM is consistent with a Poisson point process model (randomly distributed) and the distribution of wildlife stalls and COVID-19 cases are consistent with independent Poisson point processes. No statistical correlation is found between cases and wildlife stall locations. The random distribution of cases and several isolated clusters is consistent with human-to-human transmission in shared areas such as eating areas, toilets and social gathering areas. Sampling bias is evident in specimen collection at the market, with over-sampling evident in the SW corner of the market relative to the rest of the market. Notwithstanding this bias, environmental positive PCR samples are more consistent with contamination by infected COVID-19 cases and aerosol spread from the HSM toilets, as compared with from wildlife stalls. Although proposed as the intermediate spillover host, raccoon dogs were unlikely to be linked with the outbreak, as they were sold in Wuhan in small numbers, and there is no epidemiological evidence indicating any infection of a raccoon dog, or any other wild or domestic animal, before or during the early pandemic, at any market elsewhere in Wuhan, or even in the rest of China. These considerations indicate that HSM was instead likely a superspreader location, with only tenuous evidence to support a zoonotic spillover there. Consequently, we conclude there is sufficient evidence to indicate the HSM as the source of the pandemic

Overview on Multienzymatic Cascades for the Production of Non-canonical α-Amino Acids

SM-R thanks the University of Granada for the support provided by project PPJI2017-1 and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Action CA15133). Authors are also grateful to the Andalusian Regional Government through Endocrinology & Metabolism Group (CTS-202).The 22 genetically encoded amino acids (AAs) present in proteins (the 20 standard AAs together with selenocysteine and pyrrolysine), are commonly referred as proteinogenic AAs in the literature due to their appearance in ribosome-synthetized polypeptides. Beyond the borders of this key set of compounds, the rest of AAs are generally named imprecisely as non-proteinogenic AAs, even when they can also appear in polypeptide chains as a result of post-transductional machinery. Besides their importance as metabolites in life, many of D-α- and L-α-“non-canonical” amino acids (NcAAs) are of interest in the biotechnological and biomedical fields. They have found numerous applications in the discovery of new medicines and antibiotics, drug synthesis, cosmetic, and nutritional compounds, or in the improvement of protein and peptide pharmaceuticals. In addition to the numerous studies dealing with the asymmetric synthesis of NcAAs, many different enzymatic pathways have been reported in the literature allowing for the biosynthesis of NcAAs. Due to the huge heterogeneity of this group of molecules, this review is devoted to provide an overview on different established multienzymatic cascades for the production of non-canonical D-α- and L-α-AAs, supplying neophyte and experienced professionals in this field with different illustrative examples in the literature. Whereas the discovery of new or newly designed enzymes is of great interest, dusting off previous enzymatic methodologies by a “back and to the future” strategy might accelerate the implementation of new or improved multienzymatic cascades.University of Granada PPJI2017-1European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) CA15133Andalusian Regional Government through Endocrinology & Metabolism Group CTS-20

Thymodepressin—Unforeseen Immunosuppressor

The paper summarizes the available information concerning the biological properties and biomedical applications of Thymodepressin. This synthetic peptide drug displays pronounced immunoinhibitory activity across a wide range of conditions in vitro and in vivo. The history of its unforeseen discovery is briefly reviewed, and the current as well as potential expansion areas of medicinal practice are outlined. Additional experimental evidence is obtained, demonstrating several potential advantages of Thymodepressin over another actively used immunosuppressor drug, cyclosporin A

Psychostimulant effect of synthetic dermorphin analog

The effect of a dermorphin analog on learning was studied in a Wistar rat model of the complex food-seeking task. The preparation decreased the degree of anxiety in a dose-independent manner. In a dose of 50 μg/kg it increased the number of “well”-learning rats by intensifying the learning process in rats with initially suppressed cognitive activity. In a dose of 150 μg/kg, the opioid decreased the number of “well”-learning rats due to disturbance of motivation mechanisms, which was manifested in behavioral instability

The total synthesis of sevanol, a novel lignan isolated from the thyme plant (Thymus armeniacus)

Recently, a novel lignan sevanol was isolated from the thyme plant Thymus armeniacus. During structure-functional elucidation it showed significant biological activity on ASIC3 acid sensing channels. Herein we describe the first synthesis of sevanol with a 3% overall yield. The construction of a dihydronaphthalene ring by oxidative dimerization of a protected dihydroxycinnamic acid ester in the presence of ferric chloride (III) is a key step in this first total synthesis of sevanol. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

The total synthesis of sevanol, a novel lignan isolated from the thyme plant (Thymus armeniacus)

Recently, a novel lignan sevanol was isolated from the thyme plant Thymus armeniacus. During structure-functional elucidation it showed significant biological activity on ASIC3 acid sensing channels. Herein we describe the first synthesis of sevanol with a 3% overall yield. The construction of a dihydronaphthalene ring by oxidative dimerization of a protected dihydroxycinnamic acid ester in the presence of ferric chloride (III) is a key step in this first total synthesis of sevanol. © 2018 Elsevier Lt