ACE2 News and Research

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Pfizer, BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise in preclinical study

Researchers in the United States and Germany have conducted a study demonstrating the preclinical efficacy of a new candidate vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

9 Sep 2020

Host gene editing main driving force of SARS-CoV-2 mutations

A new study published on the aRxiv preprint server in September 2020 shows that the host immune response, mediated by two RNA editors, causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to adapt and change strain characteristics.

9 Sep 2020

Tel Aviv University receives philanthropic grant from 3M for COVID-19 vaccine research

Science-based technology company 3M has awarded a significant philanthropic research grant of $400,000 to the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at Tel Aviv University to advance scientific knowledge in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 Sep 2020

Limited gut inflammation in COVID-19

A new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that gut infection with this virus produces primarily mucosal immunity but also a limited inflammatory response.

8 Sep 2020

Scientists describe various dynamic structures of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

Early in the pandemic, scientists uncovered the role of the ACE2 receptor in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein and the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors act as a lock and key for cell infection.

7 Sep 2020

PI3K/mTOR and topoisomerase inhibitors suggested as candidates to reduce expression of ACE2

A recent study published in the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that the already approved drug families called P13K/mTOR and topoisomerase inhibitors may be useful in reducing individual susceptibility to the virus.

7 Sep 2020

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 cell receptor is a novel target of the gamma-secretase enzyme complex

Based on structural similarities with other targets of the gamma-secretase system, researchers from Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the United States show that the SARS-CoV-2 receptor for cell entry may be affected by its proteolytic activity. Their results are currently freely available in a bioRxiv preprint paper.

6 Sep 2020

Study: Small neutralizing antibody can block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a small neutralizing antibody, a so-called nanobody, that has the capacity to block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells.

4 Sep 2020

Spike-based priming leads to high neutralizing activity in animal models

A new report by researchers at the University of Melbourne and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 reports on the use of a two-protein two-dose vaccine regimen and its immunogenicity in two animal models.

4 Sep 2020

D614G spike mutation increases infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and neutralization susceptibility

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, it is crucial to track the viral changes in order to link the clinical and epidemiological features of the disease with these mutations. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a common severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutation, D614G, and its effects on the virus.

4 Sep 2020

Research provides a map of coronavirus entry factors across the human body

An infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can affect multiple organs. With this in mind, researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cornell University in the US have investigated cellular factors that could be significant for an infection.

3 Sep 2020

Researchers identify properties in placenta tissue that may prevent COVID-19 transmission

Researchers from Boston Medical Center's Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases have identified properties in placenta tissue that may play an important role in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 from a mother with the virus to her fetus.

3 Sep 2020

Durable IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 from the Iceland experience

Now, a team of scientists at the Reykjavik-based deCODe Genetics, a subsidiary of the U.S. biotech company Amgen, and several universities and hospitals in Iceland, says that the antibodies developed to fight SARS-CoV-2 last for at least four months and do not fade quickly as previously thought.

2 Sep 2020

ACE2/TMPRSS2 not expressed in pancreatic islet endocrine cells

A new study by researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports that both key enzymes that are required for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) entry into the human host cell are lacking in the beta cells of the pancreatic islet. This rules out the direct injury hypothesis for impaired glucose control in patients with COVID-19 disease.

1 Sep 2020

Negligible ACE2 expression in human beta-cells

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv reports that even though the fatality rate is significantly higher in diabetics, there is no evidence that this is due to direct viral infection of pancreatic beta cells, which produce the key hormone in glucose homeostasis, namely insulin.

1 Sep 2020

Promising new candidate 'virus-like particle' vaccine for COVID-19

Researchers in the UK and Taiwan have demonstrated the potential of a new candidate vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the virus responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

1 Sep 2020

Common heart drugs are safe for patients hospitalized with COVID-19

Heart patients hospitalized with COVID-19 can safely continue taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), according to the BRACE CORONA trial presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2020.

1 Sep 2020

Human antibody response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the human antibody response in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which is key to developing vaccines and managing the pandemic, as well as designing and executing serologic testing and interpreting their results.

1 Sep 2020

Spike ferritin nanoparticles show potential as SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports the induction of neutralizing antibodies in mice by a single dose of a ferritin nanoparticle-based vaccine containing the spike protein.

1 Sep 2020

Scientists explain why SARS-CoV-2 targets multiple organs

Now, a team of researchers at LSU Health New Orleans’ Neuroscience Center of Excellence and School of Medicine has explained the gateway receptor for SARS-CoV-2 and how it leads to the emergence of many complications as it targets many parts of the body.

31 Aug 2020