Robust Immune System Research Articles

Abstract P3160: Myocarditis Treatments Within Our Sights: Targeting Inflammatory Conversations In The Heart Using Extracellular Vesicles

Viral myocarditis is an inflammatory cardiomyopathy with no pharmacologic agent currently able to quell the immune mechanisms that damage the heart in their inflammatory crossfire to quell infections, without risk of immunocompromise. Sex differences are well known in inflammatory and/or infectious diseases. Females display more efficient, anti-inflammatory responses to external threats like viruses, while males launch a pro-inflammatory defensive response. Myocarditis is a classic case of an infectious, inflammatory disease being more frequent and more severe in men, while pre-menopausal women are most protected. Extracellular vesicles are biocompatible, highly abundant, stable messaging carriers with no transformative risk, and hold great promise as therapeutics due to their functional cargo. As EVs are soluble mediators of the conversations between cells, we seek to redirect protective anti-inflammatory messaging from pre-menopausal women to male mice, using a highly translational model of murine myocarditis. We derive EVs from omental fat, repurposing this source to derive a purified, therapeutic component. Our results show robust immune system control, with EV treatments effectively attenuating pro-inflammatory inflammasome and complement markers, while leaving regulatory components like M2b macrophages and complement component CR1 unchanged. Treated mice are healthier during acute disease and demonstrate better heart function than control mice, despite being a strain susceptible to myocarditis and subsequent dilated cardiomyopathy. Tests using EVs from similarly aged men do not demonstrate this anti-inflammatory capacity. Proteomic and RNA-sequencing content comparisons of these EVs from these two donor groups reveal important proteins and regulatory micro RNAs. Our data suggest that EVs from fat may be a novel anti-inflammatory treatment for viral myocarditis, however individual donors show varying therapeutic capacity, with EV content heavily influenced by sex and age. This study not only addresses a major therapeutic gap in the myocarditis field, but also provides functional and -omic based comparisons of EVs from donors differing only by sex, to test if female cardioprotection from myocarditis is transferrable.

Hungarian indigenous Tsigai, a promising breed for excellent heat tolerance and immunity

The adverse effects of climate change on sheep farming have become more noticeable in recent decades. Extensive efforts have been made to untangle the complex relationship between heat tolerance, animal health, and productivity, also to identify a resilient and economically suitable breed for selection that can be resilient to future climate change conditions. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we observed the seasonal variations in the expression of several important genes related to heat stress and immunity (HSP70, IL10, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR8) in three of the most widely kept sheep breeds in Hungary: The indigenous Tsigai, Hungarian Merino, and White Dorper. We found that the seasonal stressor affected the relative gene expression of all genes in this study. Notably, The Hungarian indigenous Tsigai was the most robust breed adapted to the Hungarian continental (hot summer, cold winter) environment, with excellent thermotolerance and immunity. Furthermore, despite suffering from heat stress in the summer, Hungarian Merino maintained their robust immune system well throughout the year.

Compositional and Functional Characteristics of Camel Milk: Evidence Based Review

Camel milk (CM) has been demonstrated to be effective in treating a broad range of illnesses. Camel's milk is regarded to have therapeutic properties because of its unique composition. Some people consider CM to be a precious commodity. White CM is made by combining fat and water. Several clinical studies have shown that CM effectively treats various diseases, including chronic ones. Most of the medicinal advantages of CM are included in this study. CM ingredients and qualities are similar to those found in mother's milk, making it superior to cow's milk. Insulin-like and protective proteins are found in abundance, along with lactose, which is the primary carbohydrate. It has anti-tumour qualities, and the robust immune system components assist in combatting disorders, including diabetes, autism, and diarrhoea. It has been used by Nomads and Bedouins (Arabian tribal) for millennia because of these properties.

The microbiota of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 and their infants

BackgroundInfants receive their first bacteria from their birthing parent. This newly acquired microbiome plays a pivotal role in developing a robust immune system, the cornerstone of long-term health.ResultsWe demonstrated that the gut, vaginal, and oral microbial diversity of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection is reduced, and women with early infections exhibit a different vaginal microbiota composition at the time of delivery compared to their healthy control counterparts. Accordingly, a low relative abundance of two Streptococcus sequence variants (SV) was predictive of infants born to pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsOur data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy, particularly early infections, are associated with lasting changes in the microbiome of pregnant women, compromising the initial microbial seed of their infant. Our results highlight the importance of further exploring the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the infant’s microbiome-dependent immune programming.1tBoQ_Pk5FCyiTEw6F72J3Video

Investigation of CRISPR-Independent Phage Resistance Mechanisms Reveals a Role for FtsH in Phage Adsorption to Streptococcus thermophilus.

Prokaryotes are under constant pressure from phage infection and thus have evolved multiple means of defense or evasion. While CRISPR-Cas constitutes a robust immune system and appears to be the predominant means of survival for Streptococcus thermophilus when facing lytic phage infection, other forms of phage resistance coexist in this species. Here, we show that S. thermophilus strains with deleted CRISPR-Cas loci can still give rise to phage-resistant clones following lytic phage challenge. Notably, non-CRISPR phage-resistant survivors had multiple mutations which would truncate or recode a membrane-anchored host protease, FtsH. Phage adsorption was dramatically reduced in FtsH mutants, implicating this protein in phage attachment. Phages were isolated which could bypass FtsH-based resistance through mutations predicted to alter tape measure protein translation. Together, these results identify key components in phage propagation that are subject to mutation in the molecular arms race between phage and host cell. IMPORTANCE Streptococcus thermophilus is an important organism for production of cultured dairy foods, but it is susceptible to lytic phages which can lead to failed products. Consequently, mechanisms for phage resistance are an active area of research. One such mechanism is CRISPR-Cas, and S. thermophilus is a model organism for the study of this form of adaptive immunity. Here, we expand on known mechanisms with our finding that spontaneous mutations in ftsH, a gene encoding a membrane-anchored protease, protected against phage infection by disrupting phage adsorption. In turn, mutations in phage tail protein genes allowed phages to overcome ftsH-based resistance. Our results identified components in phage propagation that are subject to mutation in the molecular arms race between phage and host.

Monodelphis domestica as a Fetal Intra-Cerebral Inoculation Model for Zika Virus Pathogenesis.

Monodelphis domestica (the laboratory opossum) is a marsupial native to South America. At birth, these animals are developmentally equivalent to human embryos at approximately 5 weeks of gestation, which, when coupled with other characteristics including the size of the animals, the development of a robust immune system during juvenile development, and the relative ease of experimental manipulation, have made M. domestica a valuable model in many areas of biomedical research. However, their suitability as models for infectious diseases, especially neurotropic viruses such as Zika virus (ZIKV), is currently unknown. Here, we describe the replicative effects of ZIKV using a fetal intra-cerebral model of inoculation. Using immunohistology and in situ hybridization, we found that opossum embryos and fetuses are susceptible to infection by ZIKV administered intra-cerebrally, that the infection persists, and that viral replication results in neural pathology and may occasionally result in global growth restriction. These results demonstrate the utility of M. domestica as a new animal model for investigating ZIKV infection in vivo and facilitate further inquiry into viral pathogenesis, particularly for those viruses that are neurotropic, that require a host with the ability to sustain sustained viremia, and/or that may require intra-cerebral inoculations of large numbers of embryos or fetuses.

Origin, phenotype and autoimmune potential of T cells in human immune system mice receiving neonatal human thymus tissue.

Robust human immune system (HIS) mice are created using human fetal thymus tissue and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). A HIS mouse model using neonatal human thymus tissue and umbilical cord blood (CB) HSCs (NeoHu) was recently described. We improved the model by removing the native murine thymus, which can also generate human T cells, and demonstrated definitively the capacity of human T cells to develop in a grafted neonatal human thymus. Human T cells derived from the neonatal thymus tissue appeared in peripheral blood early post-transplantation and CB-derived T cells appeared later. Naïve T cells were demonstrated in peripheral blood but effector memory and T peripheral helper phenotypes predominated later, in association with development of autoimmunity in some animals. Treatment of thymus grafts with 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) increased the proportion of stem cells derived from injected HSCs, delayed onset of autoimmune disease, reduced early T cell reconstitution, and reduced effector/memory T cell conversion. Younger neonatal human thymus tissue was associated with improved T cell reconstitution. While the NeoHu model bypasses the need for fetal tissue, it has yet to demonstrate equivalent reconstitution to fetal tissue, though 2-DG can improve results by removing native thymocytes prior to transplantation.

Roles of long non-coding RNAs in plant immunity.

Robust plant immune systems are fine-tuned by both protein-coding genes and non-coding RNAs. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) refer to RNAs with a length of more than 200 nt and usually do not have protein-coding function and do not belong to any other well-known non-coding RNA types. The non-protein-coding, low expression, and non-conservative characteristics of lncRNAs restrict their recognition. Although studies of lncRNAs in plants are in the early stage, emerging studies have shown that plants employ lncRNAs to regulate plant immunity. Moreover, in response to stresses, numerous lncRNAs are differentially expressed, which manifests the actions of low-expressed lncRNAs and makes plant-microbe/insect interactions a convenient system to study the functions of lncRNAs. Here, we summarize the current advances in plant lncRNAs, discuss their regulatory effects in different stages of plant immunity, and highlight their roles in diverse plant-microbe/insect interactions. These insights will not only strengthen our understanding of the roles and actions of lncRNAs in plant-microbe/insect interactions but also provide novel insight into plant immune responses and a basis for further research in this field.

Correlated responses in basal immune function in response to selection for fast development in Drosophila melanogaster.

Often, immunity is invoked in the context of infection, disease and injury. However, an ever alert and robust immune system is essential for maintaining good health, but resource investment into immunity needs to be traded off against allocation to other functions. In this study, we study the consequences of such a trade-off with growth by ascertaining various components of baseline innate immunity in two types of Drosophila melanogaster populations selected for fast development, in combination with either a long effective lifespan (FLJs) or a short effective lifespan (FEJs). We found that distinct immunological parameters were constitutively elevated in both, FLJs and FEJs compared to their ancestral control (JB) populations, and these constitutive elevated immunological parameters were associated with reduced insulin signalling and comparable total gut microbiota. Our results bring into focus the inter-relationship between egg to adult development time, ecdysone levels, larval gut microbiota, insulin signalling, adult reproductive longevity and immune function. We discuss how changes in selection pressures operating on life-history traits can modulate different components of immune system.

Sex affects immune response capacity against COVID-19 infection.

The genetic variability of each individual may lead to the identification of completely different genetic polymorphisms which are associated with a different sensitivity to infectious diseases in humans. Such genetic variability allows the immune system to respond differently to viral agents, therefore only a fraction of humans develop severe symptoms, as happened with SARS-CoV-2. Such knowledge is critical to enable the development of appropriate pharmacological solutions to prevent the consequences of insufficient immunity in dealing with serious viral diseases such as SARS-CoV-2. For instance, global epidemiological data show that male sex is a risk factor for the severe evolution of SARS-CoV-2 disease. Men, due to higher production of Testosterone (TLT), are more vulnerable than females. Women, due to greater expression of the TLR7 gene found on the X chromosome, a key innate immunity gene that encodes Toll-like proteins, are able to synthesise more antiviral proteins and interferons in dendritic cells, resulting in a more robust immune system capable of preventing severe SARS-CoV-2 viral disease. This manuscript highlights how human genetic variability can lead to severe infectious symptoms in some individuals who must take appropriate prophylactic actions, such as vaccination, to prevent this.

Nutritional health of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: Conceptualizing a multilevel action framework focusing the COVID-19.

The Rohingya refugees are among the most vulnerable victims of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. In refugee camps, they frequently lack access to safe and nutritious foods, drinking water, and a healthy environment. Despite the fact that numerous national and international organizations are sincerely collaborating to meet their nutritional and medical needs, the pace of work has slowed due to COVID-19. Combating COVID-19 demands a robust immune system, which relies heavily on a nutritious diet. The development of strong immunity to protect Rohingya refugees, particularly children and women, through the provision of nutrient-dense foods is thus highly necessary. Consequently, the current commentary focused on the nutritional health status of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh during COVID-19. In addition, we provided a multilevel implementation framework that could assist stakeholders and policymakers in taking effective measures to recover their nutritional health.

β-Carotene Analysis and Histological Investigation on Different Egg Stages of Anomuran Crab, Emerita Asiatica (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)

Histological investigation and β-carotene analysis of different egg stages of anomuran crab, Emerita asiatica was studied. This investigation characterized the morphological and histological features of the ovaries; eggs and also resulted in the identification of the following structures such as Previtellogenic Oocyte, Vitellogenic Oocytes, Atretic Oocyte, matured Oocyte and its associated structures which are quiet common structures that are found in almost every Sand Crab. This study can be further used in studying the reproductive biology of this Sand Crab (Emerita asiatica). It can also be used in determining the structural and morphological changes that can happen in gonads due to the action of various microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi by artificial infections. The observation described in this study will serve as a reference for future research aimed at studies based on environmental factors, temperature, climatic conditions, and feeding that might have an effect on this species. The conversion of β-carotene into vitamin A (retinol), for clear eyesight and healthy eyes, a robust immune system, and healthy skin and mucous membranes, we require vitamin A. Large amounts of vitamin A can be hazardous, but our bodies only make as much of the vitamin from β-carotene as is required. The sand crab serves as a different source of β-carotene than vitamin A, even though E. asiatica is not widely used. Though E. asiatica is not a commercially viable crab, it plays a vital role in the environment to maintain a stable marine ecosystem. Several steps and preventive measures should be taken to conserve these members of the marine food chain to have a stable ecosystem and also to protect this species from extinction. Further, this study can potentially benefit as baseline information for the future research on the species.

Discovery and Mechanism of Action of a Novel Antimicrobial Peptide from an Earthworm.

The robust innate immune system of the earthworm provides a potential source of natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, the cost and high rediscovery rate of direct separation and purification limits their discovery. Genome sequencing of numerous earthworm species facilitates the discovery of new antimicrobial peptides. Through predicting potential antimicrobial peptides in the open reading frames of the Eisenia andrei genome and sequence optimization, a novel antimicrobial peptide, named EWAMP-R (RIWWSGGWRRWRW), was identified. EWAMP-R demonstrated good activity against various bacteria, including drug-resistant strains. The antibacterial mechanisms of EWAMP-R were explored through molecular simulation and wet-laboratory experiments. These experiments demonstrated that the bacterial membrane may be one of the targets of EWAMP-R but that there may be different interactions with Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial membranes. EWAMP-R can disrupt bacterial membrane integrity; however, at low concentrations, it appears that EWAMP-R may get through the membrane of Escherichia coli instead of damaging it directly, implying the existence of a secondary response. Gene expression studies identified that in E. coli, only the apoptosis-like cell death (ALD) pathway was activated, while in Staphylococcus aureus, the MazEF pathway was also upregulated, limiting the influence of the ALD pathway. The different antimicrobial actions against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria can provide important information on the structure-activity relationship of AMPs and facilitate AMP design with higher specificity. This study identified a new source of antibacterial agents that has the potential to address the increasingly serious issue of antibiotic resistance. IMPORTANCE Drug-resistant bacteria are a great threat to public health and drive the search for new antibacterial agents. The living environment of earthworms necessitates a strong immune system, and therefore, they are potentially a rich resource of novel antibiotics. A novel AMP, EWAMP-R, with high antibacterial activity was found through in silico analysis of the Eisenia andrei genome. Molecular analysis investigating the interactions between EWAMP-R and the cell membrane demonstrated the importance of tryptophan and arginine residues to EWAMP-R activity. Additionally, the different secondary responses found between E. coli and S. aureus were in accordance with a common phenomenon where some antibacterial agents only target specific species of bacteria. These results provided useful molecular information to support further AMP research and design. Our study expands the sources of antimicrobial peptides and also helps to explain the adaptability of earthworms to their environment.

Development of Sport Tourism as a Post-Covid-19 Tourism Recovery Strategy in Gianyar Regency

The Covid-19 pandemic has made most people aware of the importance of health, so they want to try harder to be healthy and have robust immune systems. This also influences travel patterns, where most tourists visit the outdoors and wish to engage in sports and recreational activities when travelling. One of Bali's districts with natural and cultural wealth is Gianyar Regency. With all this potential, it will be possible to develop sports tourism combined with the unique cultural tourism of Gianyar Regency to create uniqueness compared to other sport tourism destinations. The aims of this research were (1) to identify the potential for sports tourism in Gianyar Regency and (2) to identify obstacles in the development of sport tourism in Gianyar Regency, (3) to develop a strategy for developing sports tourism in Gianyar Regency as post-covid-19 tourism recovery. The method used in this research is the SWOT Analysis and IFAS - EFAS Matrix. The result showed Gianyar is in Quadrant I, where the strategy leads to growth and build. It also has a big chance to develop sports tourism for the tourism recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. The strategies that can be implemented are developing sport tourism packages by collaborating on cultural tourism with sports tourism, conducting an analysis with stakeholders regarding the potential for natural damage caused by sports tourism, conducting socialization to the surrounding community about sports tourism, involving and providing training to sports activity experts sports on tourism, and make guidelines for each type of sports tourism to be developed.

Senataxin and RNase H2 act redundantly to suppress genome instability during class switch recombination.

Class switch recombination generates distinct antibody isotypes critical to a robust adaptive immune system, and defects are associated with autoimmune disorders and lymphomagenesis. Transcription is required during class switch recombination to recruit the cytidine deaminase AID-an essential step for the formation of DNA double-strand breaks-and strongly induces the formation of R loops within the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus. However, the impact of R loops on double-strand break formation and repair during class switch recombination remains unclear. Here, we report that cells lacking two enzymes involved in R loop removal-senataxin and RNase H2-exhibit increased R loop formation and genome instability at the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus without impacting its transcriptional activity, AID recruitment, or class switch recombination efficiency. Senataxin and RNase H2-deficient cells also exhibit increased insertion mutations at switch junctions, a hallmark of alternative end joining. Importantly, these phenotypes were not observed in cells lacking senataxin or RNase H2B alone. We propose that senataxin acts redundantly with RNase H2 to mediate timely R loop removal, promoting efficient repair while suppressing AID-dependent genome instability and insertional mutagenesis.

A Case Report on a Chemotherapy Treatment to a SARSCOV2 PCR Positive, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Filipino Patient

SARSCOV2 causing the COVID-19 infection has spread to a pandemic scale and putting the vulnerable population at risk of infection such as those with malignancies. Cancer treatment remains to be controversial in this time of pandemic such that recommendations were either delay treatment, reduce hospital exposure, or to balance the risk of disease progression(e.g. malignancy) and acquiring the disease (COVID-19). Information on COVID-19 positive cancer patients receiving chemotherapy remains to be limited. Thus, this case is reported. The case is a 64 year old male, newly diagnosed, Non-Hodgkins lymphoma who presented with severe anemia and weight loss. He was diagnosed through the bone marrow findings of CD20, Ki67, BCL2 positive B cell Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, NOS. He underwent induction chemotherapy with Prednisone, Cyclophosphamide and Vincristine. Thereafter he diagnosed to have COVID-19 infection, moderate. He remained to be PCR positive but with noted negative IgM Antibody. He showed signs of worsening anemia thus was given succeeding chemotherapy while admitted in the COVID unit of the hospital. Malignancy in general poses greater risk of severe infection with COVID-19 and possibly a worse outcome.8 The decision to proceed with chemotherapy treatment at the time when cases in the Philippines were not clear due to few testing capacity in the different institutions was based on the symptomatic persistence of severe anemia and weight loss as well as reduction in the functional capacity of the patient. The focus of efforts of oncologists and hematologists as recommended by their respective societies was on the reduction of the possibility of acquiring COVID-19 infection. There is paucity of data among those patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was given chemotherapy. Although, several studies have shown that among patients with COVID-19 and cancer as co-morbidity, the mortality can reach as high as 21% to 33% or can present with severe type of infection. Recommendations given by National Cancer Center Network(NCCN), American Society of Clinical Oncology(ASCO), European Society for Medical Oncology(ESMO, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE), World Health Organization(WHO), and Center for Disease Control(CDC) consistently revolve around the shifting of follow-up consults via teleconsultation to reduce travel to the hospital, delay or reduction of immunosuppressive treatments if possible, careful and holistic, multidisciplinary individualized approach in chemotherapeutic treatment, and withholding chemotherapy once positive with SARSCOV2 PCR positive test. In this case, the patient remained to be asymptomatic, non-oxygen requiring but remained to be positive on his 3rd PCR test done (20 days from initial positive test). The infectious disease service considered this as a false positive test and only a reflection of SARSCOV2 RNA remnants in the patient's upper airway. The clinical presentation of this cancer patient to the COVID infection is contradictory to those seen in most studies reviewed. Based on the limited knowledge on the pathophysiology of COVID-19, hyperinflammatory response occur in a robust immune system that causes Systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS) and cytokine storm or hypoinflammatory response leading to multiple secondary bacterial infection.10 But neither was seen in this case. It is therefore possible that details of the mechanism of COVID-19 infection and its association with co-morbidities (malignancy) to severity are yet to be elucidated. All of the knowledge that is learned in this time of pandemic stems from a continuous trial and error efforts of clinicians who, through a sound theoretical foundation, first hand clinical experience and outcome endlessly refine approaches to produce the best outcome for those who are infected with the virus, most importantly, to the vulnerable population, such as those who is burdened by malignancies and COVID-19 infection. The treatment of COVID-19 positive patients with hematologic malignancy should be individualized and should focus on the balance between disease severity and risk of worsening COVID-19 infection.

Scientific opportunities in resilience research for cardiovascular health and wellness. Report from a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop.

Exposure of biological systems to acute or chronic insults triggers a host of molecular and physiological responses to either tolerate, adapt, or fully restore homeostasis; these responses constitute the hallmarks of resilience. Given the many facets, dimensions, and discipline-specific focus, gaining a shared understanding of "resilience" has been identified as a priority for supporting advances in cardiovascular health. This report is based on the working definition: "Resilience is the ability of living systems to successfully maintain or return to homeostasis in response to physical, molecular, individual, social, societal, or environmental stressors or challenges," developed after considering many factors contributing to cardiovascular resilience through deliberations of multidisciplinary experts convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute during a workshop entitled: "Enhancing Resilience for Cardiovascular Health and Wellness." Some of the main emerging themes that support the possibility of enhancing resilience for cardiovascular health include optimal energy management and substrate diversity, a robust immune system that safeguards tissue homeostasis, and social and community support. The report also highlights existing research challenges, along with immediate and long-term opportunities for resilience research. Certain immediate opportunities identified are based on leveraging existing high-dimensional data from longitudinal clinical studies to identify vascular resilience measures, create a 'resilience index,' and adopt a life-course approach. Long-term opportunities include developing quantitative cell/organ/system/community models to identify resilience factors and mechanisms at these various levels, designing experimental and clinical interventions that specifically assess resilience, adopting global sharing of resilience-related data, and cross-domain training of next-generation researchers in this field.

White Blood Cell Classification Using Multi-Attention Data Augmentation and Regularization

Accurate and robust human immune system assessment through white blood cell evaluation require computer-aided tools with pathologist-level accuracy. This work presents a multi-attention leukocytes subtype classification method by leveraging fine-grained and spatial locality attributes of white blood cell. The proposed framework comprises three main components: texture-aware/attention map generation blocks, attention regularization, and attention-based data augmentation. The developed framework is applicable to general CNN-based architectures and enhances decision making by paying specific attention to the discriminative regions of a white blood cell. The performance of the proposed method/model was evaluated through an extensive set of experiments and validation. The obtained results demonstrate the superior performance of the model achieving 99.69 % accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art approaches. The proposed model is a good alternative and complementary to existing computer diagnosis tools to assist pathologists in evaluating white blood cells from blood smear images.

Allergies, acute infections and humoral skin creams

Allergies can engender a healthy immune response to harmful viruses. The humoral immune system (i.e., antibody-mediated immunity) creates and regulates endogenous proteins that support a fully integrated immune response to acute infections. A robust and active humoral immune system may inhibit the development of cytokine/bradykinin storms and affect angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression. Humoral skin cream therapy is immune-stimulating and may affect the global burden of morbidity and mortality from acute infections.

Nutritional knowledge and immunity-boosting food consumption patterns before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown periods in Osun State, Nigeria.

Background: A healthy diet can ensure a robust immune system that can resist any onslaught by viruses and bacteria. Aim: To assess the nutritional knowledge and consumption patterns of immunity boosting foods of adults before & after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown periods and the effect of the lockdown on daily food intake among respondents in selected towns in Osun state. Methods: Cross sectional data was collected from six largest local governments areas purposively selected from the three senatorial districts of Osun State (n = 1000) using a well-structured, self-administered questionnaire and the data collected was analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's correlation test The study assessed the food intakes of adults using a qualitative food frequency questionnaire. Results: The results indicated that the majority (89.8%) of the respondents had high knowledge of the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Daily food intake was affected by COVID-19 lockdown, consumption of healthy food among the respondents was high during lockdown as 77% strongly agreed that vitamins and minerals supplement can be considered healthy and immunity boosting, while there was a reduction in the consumption of healthy foods after the lockdown periods. The test of hypothesis showed that the occurrence of pandemic and nutritional knowledge had a significant relationship with the consumption of healthy foods. Conclusion: This study extends and confirms previous research on high nutritional knowledge of immunity-boosting foods in relation to COVID-19 among the respondents and a general reduction in the consumption of healthy foods after the COVID −19 lockdown periods.