Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 News and Research

RSS

Does smoking increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalization?

A study conducted by UK researchers has found that patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were less likely to be current smokers than patients who had been admitted with other types of respiratory viral infections last year (2019).

1 Dec 2020

SARS-CoV-2's microRNAs may have promoted its jump to humans

A new study uses machine learning to explore the small microRNAs (or miRNAs) of SARS-CoV-2 that may determine the virus's ability to successfully infect humans by altering the course of transcriptional events.

1 Dec 2020

Nucleic acid-hydrolyzing scFv 3D8 exhibits potent antiviral effects on SARS-CoV-2

3D8, a 27-kDa recombinant antibody fragment, was found in autoimmune-prone Murphy Roths Large mice. The single-chain variable fragment (scFv) has the nucleic acid hydrolyzing activity and is shown to degrade DNA or mRNA of viruses in infected cells.

30 Nov 2020

Good cholesterol helps SARS-CoV-2 enter cells

The researchers explained that the SARS-CoV-2 can infect human host cells after its viral spike protein (SARS-2-S) binds to a cellular surface receptor called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

30 Nov 2020

A mutant SARS-CoV-2 subspecies from minks may evade antibody detection

In a recent research letter published on the bioRxiv preprint server, scientists from Japan discovered that the mutation of spike glycoprotein in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) derived from farmed minks can also be found in the group of individuals with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and subsequently evade detection by our immune system.

30 Nov 2020

Female reproductive hormones may be protective against COVID-19

In an article recently published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, Graziano Pinna from the University of Illinois in Chicago outlines some of the evidence suggesting that female reproductive hormones may play a role in the sex bias that has been observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

29 Nov 2020

Study exposes human olfactory and brain cells as genuine viral targets of SARS-CoV-2

In a study published in the iScience journal, a research group from Switzerland shows that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptors and entry genes are expressed in the human olfactory neuroepithelial cells and brain by observing key molecular players implicated in the infectious process

29 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein shows slow but stable evolution, study finds

A new preprint published in November 2020 describes the seven different clades into which the virus has diversified.

27 Nov 2020

Monoclonal antibody HB27 shows potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2

A new study reports a very promising anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody, HB27, that appears to have two distinct mechanisms of action inhibiting the virus-host cell interaction and subsequent infection.

27 Nov 2020

N439K mutation of SARS-CoV-2 may be more infectious and antibody resistant than Wuhan strain

Researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology, China, modeled the complexes formed between the RBD and the human ACE2 and monoclonal antibodies.

27 Nov 2020

Ipom-F inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro

An international team of researchers showed the small molecule inhibitor, ipomoeassin F (Ipom-F), blocks the translocation/insertion of the three protein targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

27 Nov 2020

Novel cannabis plant extracts could protect against COVID-19

Researchers in Canada have conducted a study suggesting that novel Cannabis sativa extracts may decrease levels of the host cell receptor that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses to gain viral entry to target tissues.

26 Nov 2020

Transgenic mouse model could recapitulate severe COVID-19 in humans

Researchers in the United States and Canada have described the potential for a transgenic mouse model to serve as an effective platform for the study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and severe disease course in humans.

26 Nov 2020

Antihypertensive drugs may reduce COVID-19 mortality in at-risk patients

A new multicenter study that recently appeared on the medRxiv* preprint server in November 2020 has found a lower or equal risk of fatal COVID-19 in hypertensive patients, depending on the type of medication they are on.

26 Nov 2020

Early interferon therapy may mitigate COVID-19 severity

A recent review of COVID-19 therapies explores the utility of interferons in the battle against severe COVID-19, and concludes that they deserve further development.

26 Nov 2020

Researchers discover close SARS-CoV-2-relative in animal hosts outside China

In a major new discovery that might deepen our understanding of SARS-CoV-2’s animal origins and its genetic evolution, coronaviruses very closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been discovered in two horseshoe bats outside of China.

25 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibodies can persist up to 200 days after symptom onset

Researchers report SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to the spike protein (S protein) can persist 200 days after symptom onset, but that antibodies to the nucleoprotein (N protein) can reduce much more rapidly.

25 Nov 2020

Is COVID-19 severity mediated by higher antibody response?

A new study indicates that patients with more severe COVID-19 have a stronger antibody response.

25 Nov 2020

Mefloquine shows potential as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug

A team of scientists from Japan has identified the approved anti-material drug, mefloquine, as a potential candidate to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Specifically, mefloquine has been shown to prevent the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells and reduce the viral load in vitro.

24 Nov 2020

Scientists show SARS-CoV-2's viral replication with 3D integrative imaging

A team of researchers at Heidelberg University in Germany have performed a detailed imaging analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to determine how the virus reprograms infected cells.

24 Nov 2020