Designing and producing an effective vaccine is the best possible way to reduce the burden and spread of a disease. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many large pharmaceutical ...and biotechnology companies invested a great deal of time and money in trying to control and combat the disease. In this regard, due to the urgent need, many vaccines are now available earlier than scheduled. Based on their manufacturing technology, the vaccines available for COVID-19 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV2)) infection can be classified into four platforms: RNA vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, subunit (protein-based) vaccines, and inactivated virus vaccines. Moreover, various drugs have been deemed to negatively affect the progression of the infection via various actions. However, adaptive variants of the SARS-CoV-2 genome can alter the pathogenic potential of the virus and increase the difficulty of both drug and vaccine development. In this review, along with drugs used in COVID-19 treatment, currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines as well as variants of the virus are described and evaluated, considering all platforms.
Globally, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the significant causes of death and are considered a major concern of human society. One of the most crucial objectives of scientists is to reveal ...the mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of CVD, which has attracted the attention of many scientists. Accumulating evidence showed that the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway is involved in various physiological and pathological processes. According to research on the molecular mechanisms of CVDs, the STAT family of proteins is one of the most crucial players in these diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated the undeniable relevance of STAT family proteins in various CVDs. The aim of this review is to shed light on how STAT signaling pathways are related to CVD and the potential for using these signaling pathways as therapeutic targets.
To determine the pathogenicity and frequency of copy-number variants (CNV) in the 81 secondary finding (SFv3.2) genes recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG).
...Review of published evidence on pathogenicity of partial or complete copy-number losses or gains in ACMG SFv3.2 was performed. Frequency of reportable CNVs in the ACMG SFv3.2 genes was investigated among 10,959 patients tested by chromosomal microarray analysis in a single academic testing laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center during 2011 to 2023.
We identified 58 ACMG SFv3.2 genes for which sufficient evidence supports reporting of partial or complete copy-number losses as secondary findings. On the contrary, reporting of copy-number gains was not supported by evidence in any of the ACMG SFv3.2 genes. Overall, CNVs in SFv3.2 genes were detected in 32 of 10,959 (0.29% or 1 in 343) patients in our cohort.
This study provides a framework for consistent reporting of CNVs, detected by chromosomal microarray analysis, exome, or genome sequencing, in any of the ACMG SFv3.2 genes. To our knowledge, this is the largest cohort of patients studied for estimation of frequency of reportable CNVs in the ACMG SFv3.2 genes.
