Identification of anti-flaviviral drugs with mosquitocidal and anti-Zika virus activity in Aedes aegypti
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
Authors: Dong, Shengzhang; Kang, Seokyoung; Dimopoulos, George
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV), an emerging arbovirus belonging to the genus Flavivirus, is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. ZIKV infection can cause microcephaly of newborn babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. Because no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment is available for ZIKV infection, the most commonly used approach to control the spread of ZIKV is suppression of the mosquito vector population. A novel proposed strategy to block arthropod virus (arbovirus) transmission is based on the chemical inhibition of virus infection in mosquitoes. However, only a few drugs and compounds have been tested with such properties. Here we present a comprehensive screen of 55 FDA-approved anti-flaviviral drugs for potential anti-ZIKV and mosquitocidal activity. Four drugs (auranofin, actinomycin D (Act-D), bortezomib and gemcitabine) were toxic to C6/36 cells, and two drugs (5-fluorouracil and mycophenolic acid (MPA)) significantly reduced ZIKV production in C6/36 cells at 2 mu M and 0.5 mu M, respectively. Three drugs (Act-D, cyclosporin A, ivermectin) exhibited a strong adulticidal activity, and six drugs (U18666A, retinoic acid p-hydroxyanilide (4-HPR), clotrimazole, bortezomib, MPA, imatinib mesylate) significantly suppressed ZIKV infection in mosquito midguts. Some of these FDA-approved drugs may have potential for use for the development of ZIKV transmission-blocking strategies.
Characteristics of kidney transplantation recipients over time in South Korea
KOREAN JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
Authors: Park, Sehoon; Kim, Myoungsuk; Kim, Ji Eun; Kim, Kwangsoo; Park, Minsu; Kim, Yong Chul; Joo, Kwon Wook; Kim, Yon Su; Lee, Hajeong
Abstract
Background/Aims: Detailed nationwide information regarding the recent status and time trends of kidney transplantation (KT) in South Korea is limited. Methods: We performed a nationwide, population-based cohort study using the national claims database of Korea. We included KT recipients from 2008 to 2016, and their demographic and clinical characteristics were collected. The prognostic outcome was graft failure consisted of patient death and death-censored graft failure (DCGF). Results: We studied 14,601 KT recipients with median follow-up duration of 3.96 years. The median age at the time of transplantation consistently increased from the past, and proportion of underlying diabetes mellitus prominently increased, reaching 35.6% in 2016. The preemptive KT accounted for approximately 30% of the total transplantation cases. The recipients showed a 10-year cumulative graft survival rate of 71.8%, consisting of 10-year DCGF free survival of 77.6% and patient survival of 92.8%. Age >= 20 and < 30 years, age >= 70 years, underlying history of diabetes, non-preemptive transplantation, and poor compliance on tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid were the significant risk factors associated with worse DCGF outcome. The economic cost of KT showed prominently increasing trends, reaching a total insured fee of > 60,000,000$ in 2016. However, the expansion was mainly burdened by the national insurance service but not by the patients. Conclusions: In South Korea, the number of kidney transplantation in elderly or in patients with comorbidities has been increasing. Complex clinical factors were associated with medication compliance and patient prognosis.