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Exploring the effects of smoking tobacco on COVID-19 risk

A study conducted by researchers in China has shed light on how certain tobacco compounds might prevent cells from becoming infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 Oct 2020

New graphical tool to identify potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and the University of Queensland and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 discusses using a novel tool to identify the most effective among currently known anti-SARS-CoV-2 NAbs.

29 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infects human embryonic epithelial and lung cells

As COVID-19 continues to spread the world over, investigators are still trying to understand how it ravages the human body. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 shows that the virus is capable of infecting human embryonic cells that are destined to form the epithelial surfaces of the body, both internal and external, as well as lung cells.

29 Sep 2020

Clover Biopharma's new trimeric subunit vaccine candidate prevents COVID-19 in monkeys

The vaccine candidate produced a high level of neutralizing antibodies in animal models. Rhesus macaques immunized with the vaccine candidate showed reduced viral loads in the lungs. The research is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

28 Sep 2020

Soluble ACE2 microbody blocks SARS-CoV-2 entry into lung cells

A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports the potential of an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-antibody Fc complex in a new format that seems to offer more significant inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.

21 Sep 2020

Researchers develop non-infectious nanoparticle probes to study SARS-CoV-2

Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, submitted their findings to ACS Nano, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, on their collaboration to develop SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle probes that are used to study fundamental interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins and human cells.

18 Sep 2020

Ceftazidime flagged as a potential inhibitor of the SARS-COV-2 virus

After screening more than 3,500 FDA-approved drugs and small molecules, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that ceftazidime, an antibiotic approved for use in treating pneumonia, binds to the receptors that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to in human cells.

17 Sep 2020

Optimal antibody combinations and Fc binding inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A recent study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Rockefeller University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 shows that a combination of neutralizing antibodies with intact Fc effector function can effectively reduce the viral load and prevent infection.

17 Sep 2020

Researchers explore IgA response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* and conducted by researchers from The Rockefeller University in New York examined the role of IgA antibodies in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, the team analyzed the IgA response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in 149 individuals.

10 Sep 2020

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 cell receptor is a novel target of the gamma-secretase enzyme complex

Based on structural similarities with other targets of the gamma-secretase system, researchers from Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the United States show that the SARS-CoV-2 receptor for cell entry may be affected by its proteolytic activity. Their results are currently freely available in a bioRxiv preprint paper.

6 Sep 2020

A nanoscaffolding approach for rapid design of highly immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

A research group from Slovenia, Switzerland, and Germany shows how nanoscaffolded assemblies may neutralize interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and cell receptor, providing adequate protection in a surrogate infection assay and warranting the advance of such platforms in the pursuit for the effective vaccine.

31 Aug 2020

Rabbits susceptible to SARS-CoV-2: Red flag for potential virus reservoir

A new study by scientists in the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows that the severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can infect rabbits, which opens the door for possible circulation in rabbit farms and another potential source of animal to human SARS-CoV-2 infection. This finding calls for urgent research on the prevalence of the virus in farmed rabbits.

30 Aug 2020

Study reveals protective potential of all three major immunoglobulin isotypes against SARS-CoV-2

In a recent medRxiv preprint paper, researchers from Mount Sinai in New York showed that all three major immunoglobulin isotypes (IgM, IgG, and IgA) produced by our immune cells were capable of mediating neutralization of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, neutralization titers correlated much better with binding levels of IgM and IgA1 than IgG.

24 Aug 2020

Study evaluates the reliability of new serological assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Approximately four months after the initial description of cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 had become a major pandemic threat.

20 Aug 2020

Whey protein from human breastmilk inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection

Many scientists have reported the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on pregnancy and the virus has been detected in breastmilk. Now a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows that whey protein in human breastmilk efficiently prevents infection with SARS-CoV-2 as well as post-entry viral replication.

20 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral factors to promote infection in human lung cells

Now, a new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that under conditions resembling those in vivo, IFNs may promote efficient viral invasion instead.

20 Aug 2020

Single-dose adenovirus-vectored vaccine protects mice against SARS-CoV-2

The researchers selected the human adenovirus type 5 on which to base their vaccine because this replication-defective vector had already been used in their Ebola vaccine, with an excellent safety and immunogenicity profile in a phase 1 trial. The current study aimed to produce a vaccine that could offer mucosal vaccination and enhanced protection against this respiratory virus.

19 Aug 2020

Majority of recovered COVID-19 patients have low neutralizing antibody titers

Now, a new study by researchers at New York University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the type and intensity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in recovered COVID-19 patients and the implications of these findings.

18 Aug 2020

Coronacept - A trap-and-destroy molecule against SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports a novel engineered molecule based on human and other mammalian orthologues of ACE2 fused with the Fc part of the antibody. This molecule interacts more tightly with the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD) to constitute a powerful immunoadhesin that targets the virus for destruction.

17 Aug 2020

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 with off-the-shelf CAR-NK cells

The current COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread and cause disease and death in many countries even today. At present, there is no effective treatment. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the potential of a new class of drugs called CAR NK cells, which could be used off-the-shelf to treat this disease.

17 Aug 2020