Spike Protein News and Research

RSS

Potential new treatment approach to fatal COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Pathways Bioscience in the United States have found that activating a transcription factor involved in oxidative stress regulation, antiviral activity, and inflammation may serve as a new treatment approach to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

18 May 2020

Novel insights on SARS-CoV-2 cell entry may inform further vaccine and treatment development

A research group from Harvard Medical School reported two cryo-electron microscopy structures derived from a single preparation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein in their paper available on the preprint server bioRxiv. Understanding the nuances of prefusion and postfusion conformations shed light on viral cell entry and may, in turn, guide the development of vaccines and drugs.

18 May 2020

Cross-neutralization of SARS and COVID-19 coronaviruses by a monoclonal antibody

An antibody first identified in a blood sample from a patient who recovered from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 inhibits related coronaviruses, including the cause of COVID-19.

18 May 2020

Avacta's SARS-COV-2 neutralizing Affimer reagents show therapeutic potential for COVID-19

Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce that several of the Affimer reagents recently generated for development of a point-of-care COVID-19 antigen saliva test have now also been shown to block the interaction between the virus’ spike protein and ACE2, a receptor on human cells that is key to the virus infection pathway.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 18 May 2020

Host-virus interaction drives adaptive mutation in bat CoV related to SARS-CoVs

Virus and receptor diversity is shaped by the need to evolve advanced weaponry to facilitate virus entry and infection, on the one hand, and host resistance, on the other. A new paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows how this mechanism operates in a bat coronavirus, which is related to the earlier SARS coronavirus.

17 May 2020

New and unexplored angle in the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to host cells

Researchers in the Netherlands, Cuba, and Italy have made important discoveries about the carbohydrate-mediated binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to host cell lectin receptors and host lung microbiota.

17 May 2020

Study shows broad geographic and evolutionary dispersal of betacoronaviruses from African bats

A research group from Nigeria found evidence of long-distance transmission and dispersal between bat coronaviruses isolated in Africa and the ones Europe and Asia, as described in a new paper available on the preprint server bioRxiv.

17 May 2020

Developing a COVID-19 antigen test

News-Medical speaks to Alastair Smith, the CEO of Avacta, about the process behind their newly developed antigen test for COVID-19.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 15 May 2020

First cellular immunology data to help guide social distancing recommendations

Scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 infection, and epidemiologists are trying to predict how the coronavirus pandemic will unfold until such a vaccine is available.

15 May 2020

Researchers investigate the troubling trend of heart injury in COVID-19 patients

Researchers are finding about half of all patients with COVID-19 admitted to an intensive care unit have heart damage.

15 May 2020

U of A researchers and Tonix Pharmaceuticals join forces to develop, test COVID-19 vaccine

University of Alberta researchers launched a joint effort with U.S.-based Tonix Pharmaceuticals to develop and test a vaccine against COVID-19.

13 May 2020

Vaccine design can face specific challenges, say researchers

The goal of a vaccine is to trigger a response that safely protects against an infection and/or the burden of disease.

13 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 cell entry affinity varies across different host species

A new study from India, currently available on the preprint server bioRxiv*, estimated the probability and readiness of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to infect cells of different animal species – and revealed many of them that could act as disease carriers.

12 May 2020

Neovii and Tel Aviv University partner to develop novel COVID-19 vaccine

Ramot, Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company, and Neovii, a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company and a member of Israel-based Neopharm Group, announced today that they have signed a research and license agreement to develop a novel and potentially life-saving COVID-19 vaccine.

12 May 2020

Does cholesterol play a role in COVID-19?

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 suggests that the strikingly increased mortality in COVID-19 patients who are either old or also have high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease is due to high tissue cholesterol levels. It also indicates the role of a healthy diet, by showing that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in blood oppose the effects of cholesterol and thus the risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms.

12 May 2020

Study sheds more light on the evolutionary ancestry of SARS-CoV-2

There is ongoing debate among policymakers and the general public about where SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, came from. While researchers consider bats the most likely natural hosts for SARS-CoV-2, the origins of the virus are still unclear.

12 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 could spread through surface of the eyes

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus could spread via ocular or eye surfaces. This is because the receptor where the virus binds – the ACE2, is also expressed on human eyes, they note.

11 May 2020

Genomic sequences from all over the world help fight SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, killing hundreds of thousands and infecting over 4.1 million, researchers are racing against time to understand the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The SARS-CoV-2 genome has now been sequenced in many different regions of the world, and researchers are collaborating by sharing information to better understand the make-up and mutations that the virus has undergone.

11 May 2020

Clinical trial launched to evaluate experimental COVID-19 therapies

Clinical leaders from the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center, College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy have launched a clinical trial for experimental therapies to treat patients infected with COVID-19.

11 May 2020