ACE2 News and Research

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ACE2 receptors for SARS-CoV-2 in human eye

Since its emergence in Wuhan, China, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly over most of the world’s inhabited regions, causing millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The primary symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, are fever, dry cough, and tiredness.

25 May 2020

The infection of lung stem cells may determine SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity

A group of researchers from Russia and France has demonstrated how stem cells in the lungs can be readily infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), leading to significant defects in their regeneration capacity and more severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Their manuscript is currently available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

25 May 2020

Pinpointing SARS-CoV-2 origin with new predictive model

Researchers in the United States and Canada have developed a combination of predictive statistical models that could help guide decisions about which animal species should be prioritized for detecting the origin of novel potential zoonotic viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

25 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is uniquely adapted to infect humans

The novel coronavirus pandemic has sparked much debate on its origin, with some suggesting it may have been laboratory-grown. Previous studies, however, mentioned that it is zoonotic in nature, which means that the virus jumped from wild animals and found its way to humans.

25 May 2020

How 'superspreaders' impact COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reflects the need to rethink and selectively impose lockdown on some but not all social activities, in the light of the impact of superspreaders on disease transmission.

24 May 2020

Capillary leakage important in COVID-19 respiratory distress

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv reports the pivotal role played by protein leakage through lung capillaries and promotes the use of serum albumin as a biomarker of disease progression and severity.

24 May 2020

Heparin may stop SARS-CoV-2 infecting host cells

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed a new assay that can be used to assess the attachment of viruses to host cells and to test potential inhibitors of viral infection.

24 May 2020

New biomarkers to consider for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have made new discoveries about how the immune system responds to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that could be important to consider in vaccine research.

24 May 2020

Smokers at increased risk of severe COVID-19 according to a large population study

A new UK study available on the preprint server medRxiv screened 2.4 million users of a symptom reporting application during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing that smokers are at higher risk of increased symptom burden and more prone to hospitalization.

24 May 2020

Changes in antibodies and RNA shedding during early SARS-CoV-2 infection

As the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching implications continue to unfold globally and disrupt our normal way of life, scientists and researchers are racing to find an appropriate vaccine or therapeutic drug. This process involves understanding how the virus interacts with the host cell, the dynamics of the host immune response, and the eventual outcome.

22 May 2020

Study evaluates the effectiveness of interferon beta 1b in COVID-19 pneumonia

As the world struggles to overcome the current COVID-19 pandemic with non-pharmacological interventions, in the absence of an effective drug or vaccine, existing immunomodulators are being repurposed. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows no clinical benefit to the use of one such drug, called interferon beta 1b (IFN beta1b).

22 May 2020

Preparing to meet SARS-CoV-2 head-on with a panel of neutralizing antibodies

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 describes a panel of neutralizing antibodies that bind to multiple attachment sites on the spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the current COVID-19 disease pandemic.

22 May 2020

RAAS inhibitors are safe to use in COVID-19 patients, study shows

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a novel illness that has spread across the globe in just five months. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the viral infection binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enter and invade cells.

21 May 2020

Excessive blood clotting and stroke in COVID-19 patients

The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is causing excessive blood clotting and stroke in young and healthy people, a new study has found.

21 May 2020

Nasopharyngeal swab vs. saliva for COVID-19 diagnosis

One thing has become apparent in the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. Early diagnosis and treatment, when necessary, is crucial to prevent the progression of the disease to critical and life-threatening stages where the mortality rate is much higher than otherwise. Rapid diagnosis is also key to containing outbreaks by allowing for efficient contact tracing in hospitals as well as in communities.

21 May 2020

Main receptors used by SARS-CoV-2 for cell entry are absent in the human placenta

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unlikely to infect human placenta through the canonical cell entry mediators, Wayne State University researchers showed that other interacting proteins may still play an important role during the viral infection. The study is currently available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

20 May 2020

Henry Ford Health System first to enroll a pediatric patient in HEROS study

Henry Ford Health System is first in the country to enroll a patient in the Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2 study, which aims to help determine the rate of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among U.S. children and their family members, and what percentage of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop symptoms of the disease.

20 May 2020

Study shows engineered SARS-CoV-2 spike protein may be utilized for vaccine development

In a new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers demonstrate how the conformation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein (S-protein) can be controlled with the rational construct design, providing a framework for S-protein structure engineering in vaccine/drug development.

20 May 2020