Immuno-affinity Purification of Insect Cell Expressed Rabies Virus Glycoprotein using a Conformational Specific Monoclonal Antibody

.Rabies is a disease of nervous system and causes progressive encephalitis with fatal outcome. The conformation-dependent epitopes on the glycoprotein (G) of rabies virus (RV) is responsible for the induction of virus neutralizing antibodies which is ultimately required to get complete protection from viral challenge. Therefore, a suitable chromatography technique is necessary to purify the tag free recombinant rabies virus glycoprotein (rRVG) without altering its immunogenic epitopes. The present study was undertaken to purify the rRVG using a conformational specific anti-rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) mAb, M5B4, which binds to the natively folded G. The mAb had shown a significant kinetic interaction with RVG. The mAb immobilized onto the NHS-activated Sepharose 4 fast flow™ was used for the purification of rRVG by immuno-affinity chromatography (IAC). The bound rRVG was eluted in IAC using 0.1M glycine with pH 2.5 and the identity of the purified protein was confirmed by MALDI-TOF. The IAC purified rRVG induced neutralizing antibody response and 83% of the immunized mice were protected against intra-cerebral rabies virus challenge. The results indicate that the mAb based IAC method can be an effective purification technique for tag free rRVG with significant level of purity, without compromising the protein’s immunogenic potential

DNA adducts-chemical addons

DNA adduct is a piece of DNA covalently bond to a chemical (safrole, benzopyrenediol epoxide, acetaldehyde). This process could be the start of a cancerous cell. When a chemical binds to DNA, it gets damaged resulting in abnormal replication. This could be the start of a mutation and without proper DNA repair, this can lead to cancer. It is this chemical that binds with the DNA is our prime area of concern. Instead of performing the whole body analysis for diagnosing cancer, this test could be carried out for early detection of cancer. When scanning tunneling microscope is used, the DNA results can be obtained earlier. DNA adducts in scientific experiments are used as biomarkers

Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India – A multicentric matched case–control study

Background & objectives: In view of anecdotal reports of sudden unexplained deaths in India's apparently healthy young adults, linking to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection or vaccination, we determined the factors associated with such deaths in individuals aged 18-45 years through a multicentric matched case–control study. Methods: This study was conducted through participation of 47 tertiary care hospitals across India. Cases were apparently healthy individuals aged 18-45 years without any known co-morbidity, who suddenly (<24 h of hospitalization or seen apparently healthy 24 h before death) died of unexplained causes during 1st October 2021-31st March 2023. Four controls were included per case matched for age, gender and neighborhood. We interviewed/perused records to collect data on COVID-19 vaccination/infection and post-COVID-19 conditions, family history of sudden death, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol frequency and binge drinking and vigorous-intensity physical activity two days before death/interviews. We developed regression models considering COVID-19 vaccination ≤42 days before outcome, any vaccine received anytime and vaccine doses to compute an adjusted matched odds ratio (aOR) with 95 per cent confidence interval (CI). Results: Seven hundred twenty nine cases and 2916 controls were included in the analysis. Receipt of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine lowered the odds [aOR (95% CI)] for unexplained sudden death [0.58 (0.37, 0.92)], whereas past COVID-19 hospitalization [3.8 (1.36, 10.61)], family history of sudden death [2.53 (1.52, 4.21)], binge drinking 48 h before death/interview [5.29 (2.57, 10.89)], use of recreational drug/substance [2.92 (1.1, 7.71)] and performing vigorous-intensity physical activity 48 h before death/interview [3.7 (1.36, 10.05)] were positively associated. Two doses lowered the odds of unexplained sudden death [0.51 (0.28, 0.91)], whereas single dose did not. Interpretation & conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India. Past COVID-19 hospitalization, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviors increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death