Iota-Carrageenan Prevents the Replication of SARS-CoV-2 in a Human Respiratory Epithelium Cell Line in vitro

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Abstract

Iota-carrageenan is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from red seaweeds, which, formulated into a nasal spray, has already been proven safe and effective in viral upper respiratory infections. In Calu-3, a human respiratory epithelium cell line, we explored the activity of a formula of iota-carrageenan and sodium chloride against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the assayed formula, already approved as a nasal spray for human use, effectively inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection, providing a more substantial reference for clinical studies or developments.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2021.04.27.441512: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    The Calu-3 cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Corning, NY, USA) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), 100 U/ml penicillin, and 100 μg/ml streptomycin (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA).
    Calu-3
    suggested: KCLB Cat# 30055, RRID:CVCL_0609)
    Viral master seed stock was prepared using T175 flasks of Vero E6 cells.
    Vero E6
    suggested: RRID:CVCL_XD71)
    Tenfold dilutions of virus samples from Calu-3 cells were added to monolayers of 80% confluent Vero cells at 37°C for 1 h.
    Vero
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    2.6 Statistical analysis: In the cellular viability assays, One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test was performed, and in the infection assays, the results were analyzed statistically by two-way ANOVA, both using GraphPad Prism version 9.1.0, GraphPad Software, San Diego, California USA, https://www.graphpad.com.
    GraphPad Prism
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)
    GraphPad
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).


    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.


    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.