Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Researchers identify enzyme essential for intestinal epithelial differentiation

The intestinal epithelium is the inner layer of the intestinal wall, which separates host tissue from the intestinal microbiota.

8 Jun 2020

Researchers discover important molecular mechanism of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most common form of inherited neuropathies. A genetic mutation causes the insulating myelin layer of peripheral nerves to become progressively damaged, resulting in severe disabilities in the case of CMT type 4B, for instance.

8 Jun 2020

Scientists find way to prevent warmed-up vaccines from degrading

Vaccines are notoriously difficult to transport to remote or dangerous places, as they spoil when not refrigerated.

8 Jun 2020

Using antibodies to detect Alzheimer’s disease

News-Medical speaks to Professor Vendruscolo about his research that uses antibodies to detect Alzheimer's disease, which could help to improve drug discovery.

8 Jun 2020

Monocytes could be critical in dysregulated immunity in COVID-19

A new study by Spanish researchers as part of the GEN-COVID Project, and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020, suggests that monocytes are primarily involved in triggering the hyperinflammatory immune response that may underlie severe COVID-19 infection.

8 Jun 2020

The receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2

With the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) across most of the world, scientists are working strenuously to find effective therapies or vaccines. Most strategies being worked on at present are targeting viral entry into the host cells, mainly through the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.

8 Jun 2020

Inhibition of coronavirus spike protein binding to ACE2

A novel coronavirus, CoV-19, and a later phenotype CoV-2 were identified as the primary cause for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS CoV-2). The spike (S) protein of CoV-2 is one target for the development of a vaccine to prevent the viral entry into human cells. The inhibition of the direct interaction between ACE2 and the S-protein could provides a suitable strategy to prevent the membrane fusion of CoV-2 and the viral entry into human cells. Using MD simulations, we investigate the assembly process of a Coronavirus Spike protein fragment, the hexapeptide YKYRYL on the ACE2 receptor and its inhibitzory effect on the aggregation and activation of the CoV-2 spike receptor protein at the same receptor protein.

8 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 genome variants in India

A new study published online on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 surveys the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 strains in India.

7 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 invasion of central nervous system through olfactory tract

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives throughout the world, the evidence is mounting that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects the respiratory tract as well as the central nervous system. Now, a new study by German researchers published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 describes various neurological manifestations of COVID-19, as well as the underlying pathophysiology.

7 Jun 2020

New strategy may facilitate development of multi-epitope peptide vaccine against SARS-CoV-2

By combining T and B lymphocyte analysis with manufacturability heuristic, researchers from the US and Germany proposed a set of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine peptides to use in subsequent animal studies and clinical trials. Their paper is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

7 Jun 2020

Zinc-finger antiviral protein makes SARS-CoV-2 highly susceptible to interferons

By looking into zinc-finger antiviral proteins (ZAP), a new study from Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) and available on the preprint server bioRxiv suggests that zoonotic transmission of a coronavirus with a specific genetic make-up facilitated the pandemic spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but also its sensitivity to interferons.

7 Jun 2020

Approved drug could help dampen massive immune response associated with severe COVID-19

The drug acalabrutinib, FDA-approved for the treatment of several types of B cell cancers, improved the oxygenation levels and decreased molecular markers of inflammation in a majority of 19 patients hospitalized for the treatment of severe COVID-19, according to a new study by Mark Roschewski and colleagues.

5 Jun 2020

UTEP researchers unlock potential of carbon quantum dots to combat neurological disorders

The contributions of researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have yielded the first indication that carbon quantum dots, a class of nanoparticles, can be utilized to combat neurological disorders, according to a paper published in the journal Processes as part its special issue on protein biosynthesis and drug design and delivery.

5 Jun 2020

George Mason researcher examining the use of Brilacidin for treatment of coronavirus infections

Aarthi Narayanan, Assistant Professor, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, received $35,000 from Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for a project in which she is examining the use of Brilacidin for the treatment of coronavirus infections.

5 Jun 2020

Novel disease may lead to a better understanding of cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is the most frequent severe inherited disorder worldwide. Every year, hundreds of families are confronted with this diagnosis - and to date, there is no cure for this disease that mainly affects the respiratory system.

5 Jun 2020

GMU researchers studying effect of cannabidiol on exosome release

Fatah Kashanchi, Professor, Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, and Lance Liotta, Co-Director, Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, are working to mitigate virally driven HIV pathenogenesis in the central nervous system.

5 Jun 2020

New approach helps identify protein biomarkers in the blood of COVID-19 patients

People respond very differently to infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). While some patients develop no symptoms at all, others will develop severe disease and may even die. For this reason, there is an urgent need for 'biomarkers', quantifiable biological characteristics which could provide a reliable means of predicting disease progression and severity.

5 Jun 2020

Perchlorate in drinking water may be more dangerous than previously thought

Sometimes toxins, such as hazardous wastes and industrial byproducts, seep into groundwater, the source of our drinking water.

5 Jun 2020

Researchers recommend TEG test to identify undetected blood clots in COVID-19 ICU patients

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine are recommending that all COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU undergo a thromboelastography to test for the risk of forming blood clots.

5 Jun 2020

New advance in wearable sensing could detect and quantify many biological conditions

Researchers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have developed biomaterial-based inks that respond to and quantify chemicals released from the body (e.g. in sweat and potentially other biofluids) or in the surrounding environment by changing color.

5 Jun 2020

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers identify enzyme essential for intestinal epithelial differentiation

Researchers discover important molecular mechanism of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Scientists find way to prevent warmed-up vaccines from degrading

Using antibodies to detect Alzheimer’s disease

Monocytes could be critical in dysregulated immunity in COVID-19

The receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2

Inhibition of coronavirus spike protein binding to ACE2

SARS-CoV-2 genome variants in India

SARS-CoV-2 invasion of central nervous system through olfactory tract

New strategy may facilitate development of multi-epitope peptide vaccine against SARS-CoV-2

Zinc-finger antiviral protein makes SARS-CoV-2 highly susceptible to interferons

Approved drug could help dampen massive immune response associated with severe COVID-19

UTEP researchers unlock potential of carbon quantum dots to combat neurological disorders

George Mason researcher examining the use of Brilacidin for treatment of coronavirus infections

Novel disease may lead to a better understanding of cystic fibrosis

GMU researchers studying effect of cannabidiol on exosome release

New approach helps identify protein biomarkers in the blood of COVID-19 patients

Perchlorate in drinking water may be more dangerous than previously thought

Researchers recommend TEG test to identify undetected blood clots in COVID-19 ICU patients

New advance in wearable sensing could detect and quantify many biological conditions

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