RESUMO
Human bocaparvoviruses (HBoVs) belong to the Parvoviridae family, being currently classified into four species (HBoV1-4). These viruses have been found in association with respiratory and gastroenteric symptoms, as well as in asymptomatic individuals. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of HBoVs in infants under 5 months old admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic (between March 2021 and March 2022). Clinical samples (nasopharyngeal swab, serum, stool, and urine) were screened by qPCR TaqMan. The HBoV was detected in samples of 31.6% (12/38) of participants. The most frequent alteration among the HBoV-positive neonates was the chest X-ray with interstitial infiltrate, followed by tachycardia and vomiting. Viral DNA was detected in more than one type of clinical sample in three of the participants in association with respiratory symptoms. Two participants had positive stool samples with or without enteric symptoms. HBoV intermittent and continuous positivity patterns were observed. The present study stands out for the prospective evaluation of positivity for HBoV in different types of clinical samples from a population of hospitalized infants. Our data supports circulation of HBoV in nosocomial environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Bocavirus Humano , Infecções por Parvoviridae , Infecções Respiratórias , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Humanos , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal , Brasil/epidemiologia , Pandemias , Bocavirus Humano/genética , COVID-19/epidemiologiaRESUMO
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has imposed new challenges and demands for health systems, especially in the development of new vaccine strategies. Vaccines for many pathogens were developed based on the display of foreign epitopes in the variable regions of the human adenovirus (HAdV) major capsid proteins (hexon, penton and fiber). The humoral immune response against the HAdV major capsid proteins was demonstrated to play a role in the development of an immune response against the epitopes in display. Through the immunoinformatic profiling of the major capsid proteins of HAdVs from different species, we developed a modular concept that can be used in the development of vaccines based on HAdV vectors. Our data suggests that different immunomodulatory potentials can be observed in the conserved regions, present in the hexon and penton proteins, from different species. Using this modular approach, we developed a HAdV-5 based vaccine strategy for SARS-CoV-2, constructed through the display of SARS-CoV-2 epitopes indicated by our prediction analysis as immunologically relevant. The sequences of the HAdV vector major capsid proteins were also edited to enhance the IFN-gamma induction and antigen presenting cells activation. This is the first study proposing a modular HAdV platform developed to aid the design of new vaccines by inducing an immune response more suited for the epitopes in display.