The medical and biochemical knowledge of health care professionals regarding the management of MERS-CoV: lessons from 2019 pilgrimage season in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) epidemic was a serious healthcare concern not responding to conventional anti-viral therapies between 2012 and 2017 with high fatality rates. Saudi Arabia is still among the best world examples in combating both MERS-CoV and COVID-19 pandemics. Objectives: Investigating the medical and biochemical knowledge of healthcare professionals in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia on preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures against MERS-CoV epidemic. Subjects and methods: In 2019, this cross-sectional study included 416 healthcare personnel of which 402 participants answered the questions with a response rate of 96.7%. Specialties of participants were medical students (1.4%), physicians (64.4%), nurses (23.6%) and others (10.7%). Results: The vast majority of the investigated healthcare personnel gave the right answers. 96.7% of the participants answered that washing hands using water helps prevent MERS-CoV. 90.8% of the participants answered that wearing a clean non-sterile long-sleeved gown and gloves does helps prevent MERS-CoV infection. 94.7% of participants answered that using alcohol-based hand rub helps prevent MERS-CoV infection. 92.03% of the participants thought that wearing protective equipment does help preventing MERS-CoV infection. 86.1% answered that there is no vaccine available against MERS-CoV infection and 86.1% answered that taking vaccines is suitable for preventing MERS-CoV infection. 90.04% of the participants answered that MERS-CoV patients should be diagnosed using PCR and 84.3% thought that the highest levels of anti-CoV antibodies are in abattoir workers while 87.8% thought that isolation of suspected cases helps preventing MERS-CoV infection. Conclusion: The investigated healthcare workers had a satisfactory knowledge on the preventive and therapeutic measures and biochemical knowledge against MERS-CoV epidemic at mass gatherings as pilgrimage season

Targeting cancer cells using 3-bromopyruvate for selective cancer treatment

Cancer treatment deserves more research efforts despite intensive conventional treatment modalities for many types of malignancies. Metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy receive a lot of global research efforts. The current advances in cancer biology may improve targeting the critical metabolic differences that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. Cancer cells are highly glycolytic for energy production, exhibit the Warburg effect, establish aggressive acidic microenvironment, maintain cancer stem cells, exhibit resistance to chemotherapy, have low antioxidant systems but different ΔΨm (delta psi, mitochondrial transmembrane potential), express P-glycoprotein for multidrug resistance, upregulate glucose transporters and monocarboxylate transporters and are under high steady-state reactive oxygen species conditions. Normal cells differ in all these aspects. Lactate produced through the Warburg effect helps cancer metastasis. Targeting glycolysis reactions for energy production in cancer cells seems promising in decreasing the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. 3-bromopyruvate makes use of cancer biology in treating cancer cells, cancer stem cells and preventing metastasis in human cancer as discussed in this review. Updated advances are analyzed here, which include research analysis of background, experience, readings in the field of cancer biology, oncology and biochemistry

Validation and application of a highly specific and sensitive ELISA for the estimation of cortisone in saliva, urine and in vitro cell-culture media by using a novel antibody

It is generally acknowledged that local tissue concentrations of cortisol and cortisone are modulated by site-specific actions of 11_-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11_-HSD) isoenzymes 1 and 2. Cortisone, the inactive metabolite of cortisol is produced by 11_HSD type 2. To assess 11_-HSD types 1 and 2 activities, the cortisol/cortisone ratio has to be accurately determined. Immunoassays to measure cortisone levels are not widely available and tend to lack specificity. The aim of this project was to develop a highly specific and sensitive ELISA method for the estimation of free cortisone levels in urine, saliva and in vitro media samples without chromatographic separation. Antibodies against cortisone were raised in rabbits using cortisone-3-CMO-KLH as immunogen. HRP-goat anti-rabbit IgG conjugate was used as enzyme tracer. Cross-reactivities of the untreated cortisone antiserum with major interfering steroids were minimal except for cortisol (3.15%). However, following an immune-affinity purification of the antibodies using CNBr-activated sepharose-cortisol-3-CMO-BSA, cross-reactivity of the purified cortisone antibody with cortisol was reduced to 0.27%. The minimum detection limit of cortisone ELISA was 28 pg/mL (77.7 pM). The validity of the cortisone ELISA was confirmed by the excellent correlation obtained before and after an HPLC fractionation step (Y = 1.09X - 0.21, R2 = 0.98). Intra-assay and inter-assay imprecision were 5.5-11.7% and 8.7-12.8% CV, respectively. Using this assay, salivary cortisone levels showed a circadian rhythm in men and women (11.2 7.3 nM at 08.00 h and 5.1 3.6 nM at 18.00 h), and the levels were reduced following liquorice ingestion. In media of adrenocortical H295 cell line incubations, basal cortisone levels were 4.24 0.22 nM that increased to 8.6 1.2 nM post forskolin treatment. Urinary free cortisone excretion levels in healthy subjects were 56.66 36.9 nmol/day. In human volunteers following ingestion of green coffee bean extract for 2 weeks, urinary free cortisol excretion reduced significantly from 66.67 22.3 to 42.66 17.5 nmol/day (p = 0.02) and the cortisol/cortisone ratio from 2.04 1.33 to 1.49 1.13, p = 0.05. In conclusion, a simple and highly specific and sensitive ELISA has been developed and applied to estimate cortisone levels in biological fluids and culture media.sch_die77pub2756pub