Browsing by Author "Faiq, Muneeb A."

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    COVID-19 Mechanisms in the Human Body�What We Know So Far
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2021) Kumar, Ashutosh; Narayan, Ravi K.; Prasoon, Pranav; Kumari, Chiman; Kaur, Gurjot; Kumar, Santosh; Kulandhasamy, Maheswari; Sesham, Kishore; Pareek, Vikas; Faiq, Muneeb A.; Pandey, Sada N.; Singh, Himanshu N.; Kant, Kamla; Shekhawat, Prakash S.; Raza, Khursheed; Kumar, Sujeet
    More than one and a half years have elapsed since the commencement of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the world is struggling to contain it. Being caused by a previously unknown virus, in the initial period, there had been an extreme paucity of knowledge about the disease mechanisms, which hampered preventive and therapeutic measures against COVID-19. In an endeavor to understand the pathogenic mechanisms, extensive experimental studies have been conducted across the globe involving cell culture-based experiments, human tissue organoids, and animal models, targeted to various aspects of the disease, viz., viral properties, tissue tropism and organ-specific pathogenesis, involvement of physiological systems, and the human immune response against the infection. The vastly accumulated scientific knowledge on all aspects of COVID-19 has currently changed the scenario from great despair to hope. Even though spectacular progress has been made in all of these aspects, multiple knowledge gaps are remaining that need to be addressed in future studies. Moreover, multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have emerged across the globe since the onset of the first COVID-19 wave, with seemingly greater transmissibility/virulence and immune escape capabilities than the wild-type strain. In this review, we narrate the progress made since the commencement of the pandemic regarding the knowledge on COVID-19 mechanisms in the human body, including virus�host interactions, pulmonary and other systemic manifestations, immunological dysregulations, complications, host-specific vulnerability, and long-term health consequences in the survivors. Additionally, we provide a brief review of the current evidence explaining molecular mechanisms imparting greater transmissibility and virulence and immune escape capabilities to the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Copyright � 2021 Kumar, Narayan, Prasoon, Kumari, Kaur, Kumar, Kulandhasamy, Sesham, Pareek, Faiq, Pandey, Singh, Kant, Shekhawat, Raza and Kumar.
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    COVID-19 vaccination may enhance hippocampal neurogenesis in adults
    (Academic Press Inc., 2023) Kumar, Ashutosh; Narayan, Ravi K.; Prasoon, Pranav; Jha, Rakesh K.; Kumar, Sujeet; Kumari, Chiman; Pandey, Sada N.; Faiq, Muneeb A.
    Emerging evidence suggests a detrimental impact of COVID-19 illness on the continued hippocampal neurogenesis in adults. In contrast, the existing literature supports an enhancing effect of COVID-19 vaccination on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Vaccines against respiratory infections, including influenza, have been shown to enhance hippocampal neurogenesis in adult-age animals. We propose that a similar benefit may happen in COVID-19 vaccinated adults. The vaccine-induced enhancement of the hippocampal neurogenesis in adults thus may protect against age-related cognitive decline and mental disorders. It also hints at an added mental health benefit of the COVID-19 vaccination programs in adults. � 2022 Elsevier Inc.
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    Predicting susceptibility for SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic and wildlife animals using ACE2 protein sequence homology
    (Wiley-Liss Inc., 2021) Kumar, Ashutosh; Pandey, Sada N.; Pareek, Vikas; Narayan, Ravi K.; Faiq, Muneeb A.; Kumari, Chiman
    The article is presenting a bioinformatics based method predicting susceptibility for SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic and wildlife animals. Recently, there were reports of cats and ferrets, dogs, minks, golden hamster, rhesus monkeys, tigers, and lions testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA which indicated for the possible interspecies viral transmission. Our method successfully predicted the susceptibility of these animals for contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection. This method can be used as a screening tool for guiding viral RNA testing for domestic and wildlife animals at risk of getting COVID-19. We provide a list of the animals at risk of developing COVID-19 based on the susceptibility score. � 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC
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    SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Genomic Sequences and Their Epidemiological Correlates Regarding the End of the Pandemic: In Silico Analysis
    (JMIR Publications Inc., 2023) Kumar, Ashutosh; Asghar, Adil; Singh, Himanshu N.; Faiq, Muneeb A.; Kumar, Sujeet; Narayan, Ravi K.; Kumar, Gopichand; Dwivedi, Prakhar; Sahni, Chetan; Jha, Rakesh K.; Kulandhasamy, Maheswari; Prasoon, Pranav; Sesham, Kishore; Kant, Kamla; Pandey, Sada N.
    Background: Emergence of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529 worried health policy makers worldwide due to a large number of mutations in its genomic sequence, especially in the spike protein region. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated this variant as a global variant of concern (VOC), which was named �Omicron.� Following Omicron�s emergence, a surge of new COVID-19 cases was reported globally, primarily in South Africa. Objective: The aim of this study was to understand whether Omicron had an epidemiological advantage over existing variants. Methods: We performed an in silico analysis of the complete genomic sequences of Omicron available on the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database to analyze the functional impact of the mutations present in this variant on virus-host interactions in terms of viral transmissibility, virulence/lethality, and immune escape. In addition, we performed a correlation analysis of the relative proportion of the genomic sequences of specific SARS-CoV-2 variants (in the period from October 1 to November 29, 2021) with matched epidemiological data (new COVID-19 cases and deaths) from South Africa. Results: Compared with the current list of global VOCs/variants of interest (VOIs), as per the WHO, Omicron bears more sequence variation, specifically in the spike protein and host receptor-binding motif (RBM). Omicron showed the closest nucleotide and protein sequence homology with the Alpha variant for the complete sequence and the RBM. The mutations were found to be primarily condensed in the spike region (n=28-48) of the virus. Further mutational analysis showed enrichment for the mutations decreasing binding affinity to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor and receptor-binding domain protein expression, and for increasing the propensity of immune escape. An inverse correlation of Omicron with the Delta variant was noted (r=�0.99, P<.001; 95% CI �0.99 to �0.97) in the sequences reported from South Africa postemergence of the new variant, subsequently showing a decrease. There was a steep rise in new COVID-19 cases in parallel with the increase in the proportion of Omicron isolates since the report of the first case (74%-100%). By contrast, the incidence of new deaths did not increase (r=�0.04, P>.05; 95% CI �0.52 to 0.58). Conclusions: In silico analysis of viral genomic sequences suggests that the Omicron variant has more remarkable immune-escape ability than existing VOCs/VOIs, including Delta, but reduced virulence/lethality than other reported variants. The higher power for immune escape for Omicron was a likely reason for the resurgence in COVID-19 cases and its rapid rise as the globally dominant strain. Being more infectious but less lethal than the existing variants, Omicron could have plausibly led to widespread unnoticed new, repeated, and vaccine breakthrough infections, raising the population-level immunity barrier against the emergence of new lethal variants. The Omicron variant could have thus paved the way for the end of the pandemic. � 2023, JMIR Publications Inc.. All rights reserved.