Antigen News and Research

RSS

Accelerating the design of minibinder therapeutics resilient to SARS-CoV-2 mutations

Multivalent protein-based minibinders hold great promise as potential prophylactic and treatment agents, as they can retain their activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern. This was revealed in a recent tour-de-force research study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server while the article undergoes the peer review process.

11 Jul 2021

Antigen testing identifies PCR-positive children with live SARS-CoV-2

A recent study finds that antigen-based testing can reliably identify children who are infectious for SARS-CoV-2.

11 Jul 2021

Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response may predict BNT162b2 booster response, but not AZD1222

A new study finds that the antibody titer values prior to the booster dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine can predict the final antibody response after two doses.

11 Jul 2021

MRI screening and targeted biopsies could reduce overdiagnoses of prostate cancer

Most countries have not introduced nationwide prostate-cancer screening, as current methods result in overdiagnoses and excessive and unnecessary biopsies. A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, which is published in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that screening by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted biopsies could potentially cut overdiagnoses by half.

9 Jul 2021

Metabolites of intestinal bacteria can positively influence the efficacy of tumor therapies

Certain metabolites of bacteria from the intestine make immune cells more aggressive as a new study conducted by scientists from Würzburg and Marburg reveals. The findings could help improve cancer therapies.

9 Jul 2021

Early B cell signatures predict antibody responses to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine

Researchers in the United States have identified both antigen-specific and antigen non-specific predictive signatures of antibody responses to Moderna’s two-dose coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine that protects against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2021

Kids misusing soft drinks to corrupt SARS-CoV-2 tests

A group of collaborating researchers systematically tested a variety of different soft drinks to determine their ability to create false-positive results.

8 Jul 2021

Using commensal bacteria to produce vaccine-like immune responses to dangerous bacterium

Researchers have produced vaccine-like immune responses to a dangerous bacterium by colonizing 26 healthy volunteers with a related, but harmless, commensal bacterial species. The first-in-human, controlled infection study showed the strategy was safe, as no side effects were reported and the volunteers didn't transmit the commensal bacteria to bedroom-sharers over the 90-day study.

8 Jul 2021

Changes to COVID-19 vaccination strategy could speed up herd immunity

Researchers in the United States have proposed changes to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination strategy that they say would increase the likelihood of herd immunity being achieved in the most timely and cost-effective manner.

8 Jul 2021

Can memory T cell responses to seasonal coronaviruses protect against severe COVID-19?

In a recent study published in the journal Science Immunology, scientists have revealed that the presence of CD8+ T cells against conserved epitopes of seasonal coronaviruses is associated with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These immune cells exhibit a memory phenotype and provide protection against severe disease.

7 Jul 2021

COVID-19 vaccination may be stemming evolution of “fitter” SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the United States and India have presented the first known evidence that the rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is restricting the evolutionary and immune escape pathways accessible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Jul 2021

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine elicits durable T cell memory and antibody responses

Researchers in the United States have shown that Moderna’s mRNA-1273 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine induces durable antibody and T cell responses to the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that are comparable to those seen in cases of COVID-19 caused by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection.

6 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in the salivary glands, study finds

In Brazil, researchers at the University of São Paulo's Medical School (FM-USP) have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in the salivary glands.

6 Jul 2021

Study examines evolution and avidity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies after mRNA vaccination

New research released on the medRxiv* preprint server has measured antibody responses in 71 mRNA vaccinated adults (54 vaccinated with Pfizer and 17 vaccinated with Moderna).

6 Jul 2021

Developing a face mask that can detect COVID-19

A face mask has been developed that can detect COVID-19. News-Medical spoke to the researchers behind this idea to find out more about how it works.

6 Jul 2021

Dimeric IgA antibodies help identify recent SARS-CoV-2 infection

A fascinating new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, adds a highly appealing tool to the armory of detection techniques for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Its validation could allow the early and accurate detection of recent or active infection, which is valuable in tracing contacts and preventing forward transmission of the virus.

5 Jul 2021

Scientists identify natural SARS-CoV-2 super immunity against 23 variants

The antibodies are capable of neutralizing a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants even at sub-nanomolar concentrations. In addition, the combinations of these antibodies reduce the risk of generating escape mutants in vitro. The study is published in the journal Science.

5 Jul 2021

Rapid quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific T cells by direct peptide stimulation of whole peripheral blood

To understand both the correlates of protection induced by vaccinations and the necessary immune responses to manage the COVID-19, researchers from Singapore used an alternative method to closely evaluate the kinetics and magnitude of specific T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Their work was posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

5 Jul 2021

B cell depleting agents can cause altered immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines, suggests study

A new preprint, available on the medRxiv* server, describes altered responses to the use of the highly effective messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in patients with multiple sclerosis on anti-CD20 (MS-aCD20) monotherapy.

2 Jul 2021

Engineered T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv* by Schamel et al. (June 25th, 2021) engineered T cells against SARS-CoV-2 are tested against a range of cells in vitro, finding that the treatment could be used to restore cellular immune function and suppress SARS-CoV-2.

1 Jul 2021

Antigen News and Research

Accelerating the design of minibinder therapeutics resilient to SARS-CoV-2 mutations

Antigen testing identifies PCR-positive children with live SARS-CoV-2

Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response may predict BNT162b2 booster response, but not AZD1222

MRI screening and targeted biopsies could reduce overdiagnoses of prostate cancer

Metabolites of intestinal bacteria can positively influence the efficacy of tumor therapies

Early B cell signatures predict antibody responses to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine

Kids misusing soft drinks to corrupt SARS-CoV-2 tests

Using commensal bacteria to produce vaccine-like immune responses to dangerous bacterium

Changes to COVID-19 vaccination strategy could speed up herd immunity

Can memory T cell responses to seasonal coronaviruses protect against severe COVID-19?

COVID-19 vaccination may be stemming evolution of “fitter” SARS-CoV-2 variants

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine elicits durable T cell memory and antibody responses

SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in the salivary glands, study finds

Study examines evolution and avidity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies after mRNA vaccination

Developing a face mask that can detect COVID-19

Dimeric IgA antibodies help identify recent SARS-CoV-2 infection

Scientists identify natural SARS-CoV-2 super immunity against 23 variants

Rapid quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific T cells by direct peptide stimulation of whole peripheral blood

B cell depleting agents can cause altered immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines, suggests study

Engineered T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells

Latest eBooks

Editorial Focus eBook - Spatial and single-cell omics (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics