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Maculopapular rash mainly distributed over the trunk, is reported as the most common cutaneous manifestation in COVID-19 patients. The palms, soles, and face are usually spared. The rash is associated with itching in 56% of patients and is observed along with COVID-19 symptoms. Maculopapular rash is considered as a feature of severe COVID-19 and the lesions usually resolve in 10 days. We report a COVID-19 patient whose initial manifestation was an atypical maculopapular rash with urticarial wheals and erythema multiforme-like lesions. The patient denied drug intake before the onset of skin lesions. The rash was distributed over the face, palms, and soles in addition to the trunk and limbs. The patient had only mild symptoms of COVID-19. The rash lasted for 3 weeks and resolved with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and peeling of the skin of the fingertips. We report this case to highlight the possibility of skin rash being the initial sign of COVID-19.

Background The ethno-medical significance of Clerodendrum genus raises the interest towards the characterization of its seed lectin by inexpensive and most effective technique. Objective The focus of this study is the purification, characterization, and evaluation of the antioxidant and antiproliferative potential of a galactose-specific lectin from Clerodendrum infortunatum L. seeds. Materials and methods The crude extract, homogenized in 6 volumes of the saline containing 10 mM β-mercaptoethanol was subjected to pigment removal by Toyopeal HW-55 column prior to ammonium sulfate fractionation (40-80 %). The crude protein extract was then loaded to the gel filtration column Sephadex G-200 followed by affinity chromatography using activated galactose coupled Sepharose-4B. Results The SDS-PAGE analysis showed a single band of about 30 kDa which further determined by MALDI-TOF analysis. The MALDI-TOF spectra revealed that Clerodendrum infortunatum lectin (CIL) is a homo-tetramer of 120 kDa consisting of four identical subunits of 30 kDa. The haemagglutination inhibition assay was done with purified lectin by many sugars, among which N-acetyl-D-galactosmine (NAG), D-galactose and lactose exhibited high inhibition. NAG showed the highest inhibition amongst the tested sugars, having the minimum inhibitory concentration of about 0.97 mM. The lectin exhibited a moderate antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 6.1 ± 0.1 mg.mL-1 and induced cell death with IC50 of 82.8 μg.mL-1 against human gastric cancer cell line, AGS, indicated the potential of CIL for clinical and therapeutic applications. Conclusion The present study demonstrated the moderate ability of the CIL to inhibit the growth of human gastric cancer cells, AGS either by causing cytotoxic or anti-proliferative effects. Thus, CIL due to its remarkable properties may be considered as a potential bio-molecule in tumor research and glycobiology.

Therapeutic effects of gallic acid (GA) have already been extensively studied. However, its interaction with lectins has not gained much attention. It is of interest to validate the binding profile of GA with Spatholobus parviflorus seed lectin. A combination of Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), haemagglutination assay and molecular docking was applied on SPL-GA interaction. ITC results showed four binding sites, stoichiometry, n=4, irrespective of the ratio of SPL:GA taken for titration. Difference among the four binding sites of a single molecule of SPL with regard to GA binding kinetic parameters was consistently varying. Similarly, the glide scores obtained for GA in the four different binding clefts of SPL were also conformed to the ITC. The binding of GA on SPL without affecting its sugar binding property could be considered as a boon for glycobiological research. From the presented studies, it could be proposed that the SPL-GA interactions may facilitate drug delivery by specific targeting/attachment by profiling of cell-surface glycans, followed by controlled release of drugs.