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A safe and effective vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is urgently needed to tackle the COVID-19 global pandemic. Here, we describe the development of chimpanzee adenovirus serotypes 6 and 68 (AdC6 and AdC68) vector-based vaccine candidates expressing the full-length transmembrane spike glycoprotein. We assessed the vaccine immunogenicity, protective efficacy, and immune cell profiles using single-cell RNA sequencing in mice. Mice were vaccinated via the intramuscular route with the two vaccine candidates using prime-only regimens or heterologous prime-boost regimens. Both chimpanzee adenovirus-based vaccines elicited strong and long-term antibody and T cell responses, balanced Th1/Th2 cell responses, robust germinal center responses, and provided effective protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in mouse lungs. Strikingly, we found that heterologous prime-boost immunization induced higher titers of protective antibodies, and more spike-specific memory CD8+ T cells in mice. Potent neutralizing antibodies produced against the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.1.7 lineage (also known as N501Y.V1) and B.1.351 lineage (also known as N501Y.V2) were detectable in mouse sera over 6 months after prime immunization. Our results demonstrate that the heterologous prime-boost strategy with chimpanzee adenovirus-based vaccines is promising for further development to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A series of pyrazolyl-acylhydrazone derivatives (1e–20e) have been designed and synthesized and their biologic activities were also evaluated for telomerase inhibition and tumor cell antiproliferation. Among all the compounds, 12e showed the most potent activity in vitro, which inhibited the growth of MCF-7 and B16-F10 cell lines with IC50 values of 0.57 ± 0.03 and 0.49 ± 0.07 μM, respectively. Compound 12e also exhibited significant telomerase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.9 ± 0.43 μM). The result of flow cytometry demonstrated that compound 12e induced cell apoptosis. Docking simulation was performed to insert compound 12e into the crystal structure of telomerase at ATP binding site to determine the probable binding model. Based on the preliminary results, compound 12e with potent inhibitory activity in tumor growth may be a potential anticancer agent.

Objective To investigate the quantity-effect relationship of electroacupuncture in treating urge incontinence (UI).