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Aims: To evaluate the prevalence and type of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), together with associated risk factors, among Cuban COVID-19 patients treated with chloroquine (CQ), lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), or interferon α 2b (IFN α 2b), according to the Cuban protocol., Materials and Methods: A prospective descriptive analysis of ADRs was performed on 200 COVID-19 patients who were admitted consecutively to three hospitals in Havana and Pinar del Río from April to July 2020. Information on demographics, ADRs, outcomes, behavioral, and health-related factors was collected using a validated questionnaire and clinical records. Each potential ADR case was assessed for causality based on the WHO-UMC algorithm, concomitant drug influences, and the presence of any drug-drug interactions (DDI)., Results: The total frequency of ADRs was 55%, with predominantly gastrointestinal disorders and general symptoms (23% vs 20%). 95.1% of ADRs occurred within 10 days after treatment and 42 potential DDI in 55.5% of patients (61/110) were observed. The prevalence of ADRs was: 44%, 30.4%, and 26.4% for IFN α 2b, LPV/r, and CQ, respectively. Sex (odds ratio (OR): 0.40 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.211-0.742), age (OR: 2.36 (95% CI: 1.02-5.44)), and underlying diseases (OR: 0.12 (95% CI: 0.06-0.23)) were independently associated factors for ADRs ( P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The frequency of ADRs and potential DDI was high compared to their use during nonpandemic times (e.g., for malaria, HIV, or inflammatory diseases). The safety profile of these drugs when used for COVID-19 treatment showed similar characteristics. Comorbidities, age >37 years old, and female sex were associated with ADRs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Lizette Gil-del-Valle et al.)

Upper respiratory tract is the primary site of SARS-CoV-2 replication. Releasing of pro and anti-inflammatory mediators plays an important role in the immunopathogenesis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the early inflammatory response in upper airway by measuring of IFN-γ, TGF-β1 and RANTES at mRNA level. Forty five SARS-CoV-2 infected patients were enrolled, whose were divided in two groups: asymptomatic and symptomatic. Twenty healthy persons, SARS-CoV-2 negative were included as controls. Higher IFN-γ expression was detected in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in comparison with controls (p = 0.0393). IFN-γ expression was increased in symptomatic patients (p = 0.0405). TGF-β1 and RANTES expressions were lower in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients than controls (p < 0.0001; p = 0.0011, respectively). A significant correlation between IFN-γ and TGF-β1 was observed in SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic patients (r = +0.61, p = 0.0014). The findings suggest that imbalance between IFN-γ and TGF-β1 expression could be an impact in clinical expression of SARS-CoV-2 infection., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Papers dealing with the study of the immune response to dengue virus infection and with the role it may play in the pathogenesis of dengue hemorrhaghic fever are increasingly important. The memory human T cell response in individuals with history of dengue infection during the Cuban epidemic was studied in this paper for a further evaluation of the antigenicity of viral proteins. To this end, mononuclear cells of peripheral blood from individuals immune to dengue and from a group of control subjects with viral antigens were incubated. It was obtained a significant proliferative response of lymphocytes from individuals with history of infection against dengue virus type 2 compared with control subjects. It was proved this way the dengue virus-specific memory T CD4+ cell response in the individuals under study.

The cellular immune response to dengue type 2 virus envelope protein was studied. To this end, the lympho-proliferative capacity of T-lymphocytes obtained from splenocytes of animals immunized with the protein when they were stimulated by such protein and dengue 2 virus. It was realized that splenocytes proliferated significantly in response to both types of viral antigens and that the values of stimulation indexes were higher in response to the whole virus than to the protein alone. Based on the above-mentioned, it was concludes that purified dengue 2 virus envelope protein was capable of generating specific and memory responses of antigen T-cell to dengue 2 type virus.

A series of experiments was made at the Virology Department of the "Pedro Kourí" Institute of Tropical Medicine aimed at obtaining new evidences on the possible antigenic relations existing between the viruses isolated from patients with epidemic neuropathy and the structures of the human nervous system. According to the results it may be finally inferred that the persistence and/or autoimmunity may be considered as mechanisms through which the studied viruses participate in the etiopathogenesis of the epidemic neuropathy in Cuba. For future experiments it is very important to identify the possible viral epitopes involved in the molecular mimicry that are responsible for the probable autoimmune mechanisms or for the viral persistence.