Membrane News and Research

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New N501Y SARS-CoV-2 mutations increase binding to host cell receptor

A team of researchers used several assays, atomic force microscopy, and simulations to determine that the N501Y mutation in the virus’s receptor-binding domain (RBD) increased the interaction of the virus with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.

17 Feb 2021

Study shows how SARS-CoV-2 uses an immune system defense for replication

The immune system actually wants to fight SARS-CoV-2 with antiviral signaling molecules. But a research team from Charité and MDC has now shown how such a signaling molecule can promote the replication of the virus. The results have been published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

17 Feb 2021

New model predicts which patients will gain most from PSMA PET scan

A new study led by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center helps identify which patients with prostate cancer will benefit most from the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen PET imaging, PSMA PET, a novel imaging technique that recently was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

16 Feb 2021

Discovery opens up the possibility to predict metastases even before cancer develops

The researchers analyzed cells, mouse models, and human patient samples using biochemical, mathematical, and biophysical methods.

16 Feb 2021

A pangolin coronavirus spike glycoprotein sheds light on SARS-CoV-2’s evolution

As the exact zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unresolved, scientists at the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK, explored the structure and binding properties of a Pangolin coronavirus spike glycoprotein to see if it could shed light on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.

16 Feb 2021

What are the changes in the physical phenotype of blood cells in COVID-19?

While primarily a respiratory illness, there are distinctive alterations in the type and number of blood cells in COVID-19. A new study by a team of researchers in Germany describes the nature of these changes.

16 Feb 2021

Clonally expanded plasma cell lineages in SARS-CoV-2 produce specific neutralizing antibodies

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server provides a greater understanding of the aspect of humoral immunity against the virus – the plasma cells that pour out a flood of specific antibodies targeting various epitopes on the pathogen.

16 Feb 2021

Researchers create new cancer optotheranostics based on photosynthetic bacteria

Cancer is one of the most thought-provoking healthcare problems throughout the world. The development of therapeutic agents with highly selective anti-cancer activities is increasingly attractive due to the lack of tumor selectivity of conventional treatments.

16 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 South Africa and Brazil variants show resistance to therapeutic antibodies

Scientists from Germany have determined the efficacy of currently used therapeutics in treating newer variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the UK, South Africa, and Brazil variants. Their findings reveal that both B.1.351 and B.1.1.248 variants are able to escape humoral immune responses induced by therapeutic antibodies, vaccinations, or natural SARS-CoV-2 infection.

15 Feb 2021

High-throughput sequencing could allow detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater

A new study reports the use of metagenomics to detect the virus from wastewater samples, indicating community-level circulating variants that are not yet identified or are present in very low proportions on clinical databases.

15 Feb 2021

Researchers study host and viral transcriptomes in tandem to shed light on SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a new study, researchers discuss the use of simultaneous sequencing of both human and viral genes to better understand SARS-CoV-2's infection pathway.

15 Feb 2021

Lipids play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth

Lipids are the building blocks of a cell's envelope - the cell membrane. In addition to their structural function, some lipids also play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth. This has been investigated in a new study by scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).

15 Feb 2021

Immunomodulatory drugs improve the success rate of cancer therapies

Immunomodulatory drugs, including the Contergan derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide, have significantly improved the therapy of hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma.

15 Feb 2021

Brain pericytes serve as a potential hub for SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from the United States has recently conducted a study using pericyte-like cell-containing brain cortical organoids as an experimental model to investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the central nervous system.

11 Feb 2021

Second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not benefit previously infected individuals

Researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine have shown that a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine may not offer any additional protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) over one dose among individuals previously infected with the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

10 Feb 2021

Freiburg immunologists decipher anti-cancer drug's mode of operation

Rituximab, an anti-cancer drug targeting the membrane protein CD20, was the first approved therapeutic antibody against B tumor cells. Immunologists at the University of Freiburg have now solved a mystery about how it works.

10 Feb 2021

Study shows local topological free energy as determinant of SARS-CoV-2 spike stability

A recent study conducted by US scientists has demonstrated that the distribution of local topological free energy along the spike protein domains of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with their activity in protein rearrangement.

10 Feb 2021

Could a SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein be responsible for certain COVID-19 symptoms?

Researchers highlight the potential causes of some COVID-19 symptoms. Early in the pandemic, the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, and shortness of breath. As the pandemic has evolved, more symptoms have emerged, such as loss of smell and taste, headache, intestinal issues, and abdominal pains.

10 Feb 2021

Study unravels function of 'mystery protein' that kills brain cells of people with Parkinson's

A study published in Nature Communications today (Wednesday 10 February) presents compelling new evidence about what a key protein called alpha-synuclein actually does in neurons in the brain.

10 Feb 2021

Researchers summarize underlying mechanisms and applications of sonoporation in cellular regulation

Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. In this review article the authors Yue Li, Zhiyi Chen and Shuping Ge from First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, China and Tower Health and Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA summarize current state of the art applications of microbubble-cell interactions and sonoporation effects to cellular functions.

10 Feb 2021

Membrane News and Research

New N501Y SARS-CoV-2 mutations increase binding to host cell receptor

Study shows how SARS-CoV-2 uses an immune system defense for replication

New model predicts which patients will gain most from PSMA PET scan

Discovery opens up the possibility to predict metastases even before cancer develops

A pangolin coronavirus spike glycoprotein sheds light on SARS-CoV-2’s evolution

What are the changes in the physical phenotype of blood cells in COVID-19?

Clonally expanded plasma cell lineages in SARS-CoV-2 produce specific neutralizing antibodies

Researchers create new cancer optotheranostics based on photosynthetic bacteria

SARS-CoV-2 South Africa and Brazil variants show resistance to therapeutic antibodies

High-throughput sequencing could allow detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater

Researchers study host and viral transcriptomes in tandem to shed light on SARS-CoV-2 infection

Lipids play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth

Immunomodulatory drugs improve the success rate of cancer therapies

Brain pericytes serve as a potential hub for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not benefit previously infected individuals

Freiburg immunologists decipher anti-cancer drug's mode of operation

Study shows local topological free energy as determinant of SARS-CoV-2 spike stability

Could a SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein be responsible for certain COVID-19 symptoms?

Study unravels function of 'mystery protein' that kills brain cells of people with Parkinson's

Researchers summarize underlying mechanisms and applications of sonoporation in cellular regulation

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