Spike Protein News and Research

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South African SARS-CoV-2 variant partly resistant to neutralization by mRNA vaccine, says study

A new study deals with the clinical and virological effects of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially as they affect vaccine efficacy.

26 Feb 2021

Study shows why SARS-CoV-2 is more infectious than SARS-CoV-1

Coronavirus outbreaks have occurred periodically, but none have been as devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic.

26 Feb 2021

Antibody and T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 persist up to 8 months: Study of Ski Resort Ischgl

The first instance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in Austria was observed in the Ski resort Ischgl in early March 2020. Later, the virus spread across Austria and other countries in Northern Europe.

25 Feb 2021

Pre-existing cross-reactive HCoV antibodies could protect against SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers from Spain and Canada recently characterized the antibody kinetics and neutralization capacity at 4 cross-sectional surveys between March and October 2020 and determined the seroprevalence in the same cohort of healthcare workers.

25 Feb 2021

Study pinpoints potential transmission advantage of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7

Researchers in the UK have shown that the increased transmissibility of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage B.1.1.7 that emerged in the UK during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic does not appear to be the result of increased viral replication or immune escape.

25 Feb 2021

Researchers study how glycans activate SARS-CoV-2

One thing that makes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elusive to the immune system is that it is covered in sugars called glycans.

25 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a mutation limits host immune suppression, finds study

Researchers have identified a high variability in the C-terminal end of ORF7a in SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected from around the globe. They noted that mutations result in a defective suppression of interferon and lowered replication rate.

25 Feb 2021

Research shows effective strategy to target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

The virus that causes COVID-19 belongs to the family of coronaviruses, "corona" referring to the spikes on the viral surface. These spikes are not static - to infect cells, they change shapes.

25 Feb 2021

Study reveals molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 interactions with human cells

In order to infect cells, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, needs to insert itself into the membrane of human cells. New molecular models show what parts of SARS-CoV-2 are critical for that interaction, revealing new potential drug targets.

25 Feb 2021

Study reports lasting immune response in convalescent COVID-19 patients

Researchers report the cellular immune response of convalescent patients in Germany, who recovered from mild or moderate infection compared to that of healthy people with no history of COVID-19.

25 Feb 2021

Lab study of South African SARS-CoV-2 variant and Moderna vaccine: reduced neutralization, but still protective

Researchers from the US recently compared antibody binding and viral neutralization against 2 SARS-CoV-2 variants that emerged in different parts of the world. The researchers used sera from spike mRNA vaccinated and naturally infected individuals against a circulating B.1 variant and the emerging B.1.351 variant. The study is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

24 Feb 2021

Full characterization of mammalian-produced SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domains

A research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Dominguez-Vega et al. (23rd Feb, 2021) describes an in-depth structural analysis of the RBD of the spike protein expressed in mammalian Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells, providing a new understanding of protein structure and function.

24 Feb 2021

Study shows antibody responses persisting 10 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in Italy have conducted a study showing that patients who had tested positive for infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still had neutralizing antibodies against the virus 10 months later.

24 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 does not infect the entire body in the same way, finds study

COVID-19, the disease caused by the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is primarily regarded as a respiratory infection. Yet the virus has also become known for affecting other parts of the body in ways not as well understood, sometimes with longer-term consequences, such as heart arrhythmia, fatigue and "brain fog."

24 Feb 2021

GW team to play a role in Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

The George Washington University announced today its participation in a Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. GW was selected as one of approximately 25 sites in the United States to launch a phase 2 study for its adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

24 Feb 2021

Basigin does not facilitate SARS-CoV-2 entry, say researchers

Researchers investigated the significance of a transmembrane glycoprotein basigin, or CD147, as a host cell co-receptor required for the entry of SARS-CoV-2. The findings reveal that recombinant human basigin does not interact with full-length spike protein or spike RBD of SARS-CoV-2.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers explore how N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral transmissibility

Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands have explored how and why new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have exhibited heightened infectivity.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

Long-lasting B cells do not recognize emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, shows study

A new analysis of B cells and more than 1,000 different monoclonal antibodies from 8 patients with COVID-19 shows that, contrary to previous hypotheses, protective B cell responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remain stable and continue to evolve over a 5-month period, many months after the initial period of active viral replication.

23 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge during humoral immunity phase of acute COVID-19

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server reports the rapid emergence of variants within an infected individual. The evolution of the virus within an infected host is not excluded by the close similarity between the consensus sequences of single-person SARS-CoV-2, since the number of viral copies is at its peak soon after infection occurs and before the host develops adaptive immunity.

23 Feb 2021