Enzyme News and Research

RSS

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

RIG-1-like receptors may play dominant role in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center, USA, reports the crucial nature of the pathogen pattern recognition receptor (PRRs), especially the two RLRs, retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), in triggering host cell immune responses within the cell. The RLRs are viral RNA sensors.

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

Nanobodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 variants in animal model

Nanobodies are a potential therapeutic strategy for treating COVID-19. While many previous studies report nanobodies active against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, none have been evaluated via animal models' intranasal administration.

15 Feb 2021

Naïve B cells can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 via RBD recognition

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server demonstrates the potential of using the pre-existing protective responses to produce a broad-spectrum neutralizing response against not just SARS-CoV-2 but other future pathogens.

14 Feb 2021

New mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection reflects features of human infection

Now, a new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server reports the development of a modified mouse model that allows productive SARS-CoV-2 infection of the mouse lungs, as well as the exploration of type I and III interferon responses in this condition.

14 Feb 2021

Vaccine candidate containing tetanus toxoid potentially protective against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from Cuba, China, and France have demonstrated the potential of coupling a viral antigen with the tetanus toxoid protein as a vaccination approach to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 Feb 2021

New tool enables study of SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectrum by ultrasequencing

SARS-CoV-2 genome is three times larger than influenza genome. Both consist of NRA molecules that mutate when replicate.

13 Feb 2021

FDA approves drug to reduce frequency of chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Cosela (trilaciclib) as the first therapy in its class to reduce the frequency of chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression in adults receiving certain types of chemotherapy for extensive-stage (when the cancer has spread beyond the lungs) small cell lung cancer.

13 Feb 2021

A novel approach to suppress the growth of glioblastoma cells

Inhibiting a key enzyme that controls a large network of proteins important in cell division and growth paves the way for a new class of drugs that could stop glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer, from growing.

12 Feb 2021

The Future of Environmental and Food Monitoring

NewsMed interviews Professor Antje Baeumner about the future of food and environmental monitoring, the subject of her 2021 Pittcon presentation.

From Pittcon 12 Feb 2021

Scientists demonstrate how glue points and sequence alignment information can flag residue SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the U.S. have demonstrated how dominant energetic landscape mappings or glue points, along with sequence alignment information can potentially identify key residue mutations and spike protein deletions tied with emerging variants.

12 Feb 2021

New research aims to explore functions of bile acids in the gut stem cell niche

Examining gut health from a different angle, Flinders University’s Associate Professor Robyn Meech is looking at what can trigger colon cancer – and she believes bile acids may provide a significant piece of the puzzle.

12 Feb 2021

A brain enzyme plays an important role in waking up neural stem cells

Researchers studying an enzyme in fruit fly larvae have found that it plays an important role in waking up brain stem cells from their dormant 'quiescent' state, enabling them to proliferate and generate new neurons.

12 Feb 2021

Statins shown to reduce COVID-19 severity and lower mortality

Much attention has been focused on ways to reduce the deadly exaggeration of normal inflammatory reactions to this pathogen. A new research paper posted to the medRxiv* preprint server describes the alleviation of hyper-inflammatory phenomena following the administration of statins, drugs more widely known for their use in reducing blood cholesterol levels, to patients with COVID-19.

11 Feb 2021

Researchers discover previously-unknown function in enzyme critical for cancer growth

Considered the most lethal form of DNA damage, double-strand breaks must be repaired to prevent cell death. In developing therapies for hard-to-treat breast and ovarian cancers in patients with BRCA gene mutations, scientists aim to identify ways to keep cancer cells from using DNA break repair pathways.

11 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

Higher proportion of male children develop COVID-19-related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, finds study

Previous studies about COVID-19 have shown that the illness is often more severe in men than women. However, there is limited data available for the pediatric population. Though children and adolescents are at a lower risk of developing severe illness, some may experience severe symptoms. In some cases, children develop complications, including the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Researchers report that a higher percentage of male children developed MIS-C and died.

11 Feb 2021

Study investigates multi-enzyme complex that plays key role in metabolism

A new method has enabled the natural structure of particularly large and complex enzymes to be revealed. Scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and TU Berlin have published their findings in the journal Cell Reports.

11 Feb 2021

Scientists avert drug resistance in subtype of brain tumors

In far too many cases over the years, scientists have discovered promising new cancer treatments, only to report later that the tumor cells found ways to become resistant. These disappointing results have made overcoming drug resistance a major goal in cancer research.

11 Feb 2021