Immune Response News and Research

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Countries with older populations have higher SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths, says study

A new study examines some patterns revealed by a study of the factors operating in different regions and countries, to offer plausible hypotheses of these variations.

23 Feb 2021

HSE researchers discover genetic predisposition to COVID-19 severity

HSE University researchers have become the first in the world to discover genetic predisposition to severe COVID-19. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

23 Feb 2021

Researchers investigate how CF patients respond to COVID-19

So far, based on clinical data, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) don't appear to be especially susceptible to COVID-19, and when they do get infected, they don't seem to get sicker. But Ruobing (Ruby) Wang, MD, a physician-scientist in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, cares for patients with CF and thinks there is more to the story.

23 Feb 2021

Protective COVID-19 antibodies can transfer from mothers to babies in the womb

Antibodies that guard against COVID-19 can transfer from mothers to babies while in the womb, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

23 Feb 2021

People with absence of natural killer cell receptor are likely to develop severe COVID-19

The course and severity of COVID-19 in individual patients are largely influenced by the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the human immune system.

23 Feb 2021

Influenza A virus defective interfering particles against SARS-CoV-2

In the search for a broadly acting pan-specific antiviral, an interdisciplinary team from Germany tested the previously proposed (for antiviral treatment against Influenza A infections) - Influenza A virus (IAV) defective interfering particles (DIPs). The research is published online on the bioRxiv preprint server.

23 Feb 2021

Virus-specific cellular immunity may be essential for long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from China and the US recently synthesized select peptide pools of the structural and functional proteins of SARS-CoV-2, including spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), and protease (P) proteins as target antigens to assess COVID-19-specific immunity.

22 Feb 2021

Seropositive individuals show similar antibody levels to a second mRNA vaccine dose

Seropositive individuals —people who received antibodies after COVID-19 infection — may be able to safely delay their second mRNA vaccine dose after all, according to the results of a new study.

22 Feb 2021

Current monoclonal antibodies less potent against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals found that the REGN10933 and REGN10987 combination was 9.1-fold less potent on the B.1.351 variant, which emerged in South Africa, and 16.2-fold less potent on mink cluster 5.

22 Feb 2021

Study finds consistent neuroinflammatory response after intracerebral hemorrhage

Understanding how the immune system responds to acute brain hemorrhage could open doors to identifying treatments for this devastating disease.

22 Feb 2021

FDA issues guidance for medical product developers to address the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidances for medical product developers, specifically covering vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics products, to address the emergence and potential future emergence of variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

22 Feb 2021

Some nutritional supplements may help prevent or mitigate COVID-19 severity

A new study in the Journal of dietary supplements shows that nutritional supplements, including several vitamins and the mineral zinc, may be useful in preventing the infection or reducing its severity if caught.

22 Feb 2021

Human monoclonal antibodies can act as a substitute for traditional antibiotics

In the course of a new and groundbreaking study, led by Dr, Natalia Freund and the doctoral candidate Avia Waston at the Sackler Medical Faculty, the research group succeeded in isolating monoclonal antibodies, which hindered the growth of tuberculosis germs in laboratory mice. The

22 Feb 2021

Study profiles the nose to predict immune response during COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 resides in mucous membranes, making it easy to detect viral load in the nasal cavities. An international group of researchers has characterized the immunological and diagnosis characteristics of patients who may have or are confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The team found a distinct nasal cytokine profile that could help identify patients at risk for high inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

22 Feb 2021

Some SARS-CoV-2 variants evade mRNA vaccine-induced humoral immune, says study

Understanding how variants escape vaccine-boosted immune function is necessary to neutralizing SARS-CoV-2. An international team of researchers from MIT and Harvard University in the USA analyzed Pfizer and Moderna vaccines' effectiveness in neutralizing spike proteins from 10 different strains of SARS-CoV-2.

22 Feb 2021

Could an intranasal adjuvant to vaccines boost immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants?

A research team from the University of Michigan Medical School, USA, developed a supplementary intranasal treatment to improve COVID-19 vaccine response and its effects on long-lasting immunity from other variants, such as the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa.

22 Feb 2021

Study identifies immune profile of people with severe COVID-19

A team of researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, USA, investigated how SARS-CoV-2 affects the immune system’s response during and after infection and contributes to the severity of COVID-19.

22 Feb 2021

Mucosal delivery of IFNs a good strategy for COVID-19 prophylaxis post-exposure

Researchers from the UK and Germany recently reported a comprehensive characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 response of human nasal epithelial cells, revealing a response dominated by IFN-I/IIIs. Also, recombinant IFN-I/III treatment was found to efficiently block the replication of SARS-CoV-2, which suggests that mucosal delivery of IFNs may be a good strategy for prophylaxis post-exposure.

22 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine tested in animal model

A team of experts has tested the immune responses elicited by mucosal homologous plasmid and a heterologous immunization strategy using a plasmid vaccine and a Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens.

21 Feb 2021

Novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccine utilizes recombinant spike protein with PIKA adjuvant

The primary aim of any vaccine is to stimulate immune functions and confer long-lasting protection. A paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Tong et al. (17th Feb 2021) describes a novel vaccine utilizing PIKA adjuvant and recombinant spike proteins against COVID-19 disease that promises the generation of potent neutralization antibodies, which potentially support immune responses for years.

21 Feb 2021