Antibody News and Research

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An antibody is a blood protein that is produced in response to and counteracts an antigen. Antibodies are produced in response to disease and help the body fight against the particular disease. In this way, antibodies help the body develop an immunity to disease.

COVID-19 donor antibodies show broad cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and related viruses

A new study reports on a set of antibodies from COVID-19 donor serum, which seems to be cross-reactive across multiple Sarbecoviruses, including the very similar SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-CoV.

28 Apr 2021

Peptide nucleocapsid vaccine candidate elicits protective T cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A new study describes a synthetic peptide used as a platform to generate protective adaptive cellular immunity to the virus in rhesus macaques, which are the gold standard for preclinical testing in humans.

28 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 recruits heme metabolites in antibody evasion

A research paper recently published in the journal Science Advances by Cherepanov et al. (April 22nd, 2021) demonstrated that the NTD binds to biliverdin, a product of heme catabolism, leading to enhanced antibody escape at physiologically relevant concentrations.

28 Apr 2021

Researchers design "nanotraps" to capture and destroy SARS-CoV-2 viruses

Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have designed a completely novel potential treatment for COVID-19: nanoparticles that capture SARS-CoV-2 viruses within the body and then use the body's own immune system to destroy it.

27 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to disease severity in the early phase of the pandemic

A new study in the journal JAMA Network reports on the disease severity associated with some clades of the virus, from an analysis of genomes from specimens isolated in the initial phase of the pandemic.

27 Apr 2021

Nucleocapsid-based vaccines may prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination to distal organs

A team of scientists recently investigated and compared the efficacy of spike-based and nucleocapsid-based COVID-19 vaccines in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2. Their findings reveal that nucleocapsid-based vaccines are effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in distal organs, such as the brain.

27 Apr 2021

Nanobodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical model

A team of Australian researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), the Doherty Institute, and the Kirby Institute have identified neutralizing nanobody cocktails that block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells in pre-clinical models.

27 Apr 2021

Study reveals a hidden role of circulating microRNA as a driver of SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a methodological tour-de-force study, a large group of researchers from the USA and the United Kingdom analyzed patient transcriptomic data in-depth and discovered a circulating microRNA (miR-2392) that is directly implicated in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) machinery during the infection process.

26 Apr 2021

Study raises concern about limited immune response of transplant patients after COVID-19 vaccination

A small study from Mayo Clinic researchers raises the concern that some transplant patients may have a limited immune response after being vaccinated for COVID-19 with an mRNA vaccine.

26 Apr 2021

Scientists uncover an important clue to the conundrum of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Each year over 150,000 infants worldwide are infected with HIV in the womb, at birth, or through breastfeeding.

26 Apr 2021

Commonly-prescribed drug for IBD blunts COVID-19 vaccine response

People who take a commonly-prescribed drug for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) should not assume they are protected after a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, after a large-scale study found many had poor antibody responses.

26 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response robust in nursing home residents after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

However, with the waning of the immune response, it is not clear if these older people respond to the vaccine as well as younger individuals do. A recent study explored this question and found that though the antibody levels were somewhat lower in this group, they were still robust. This is a promising observation.

26 Apr 2021

UT Southwestern reports first cases of Brazilian variant of COVID-19 infection in North Texas

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have identified the first cases of the Brazilian variant of COVID-19 infection in North Texas using next-generation sequencing technologies along with PCR testing.

26 Apr 2021

Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with more adverse events following mRNA vaccination

The phase 3 trials of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines did not include those with a known previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent evidence indicates that mRNA vaccines may induce more adverse events in these individuals. In a recent study, 947 individuals, 265 of which have previously reported SARS-CoV-2 infection, were monitored post-vaccination for adverse events, finding that there could be a link between previous infection and greater incidence of these events.

26 Apr 2021

Real-world study in India finds COVISHIELD vaccine safe and effective

New research led by Naresh Trehan of Medanta-The Medicity in India found the COVISHIELD (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccine) vaccine produced an immune response from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) two weeks after vaccination with limited side effects.

26 Apr 2021

Recombinant protein vaccine fails expectations for SARS-CoV-2 neutralization

New interim results of a phase 1-2 clinical trial published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases tested the safety and effectiveness of an adjuvanted recombinant protein vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) called CoV2 preS dTM.

26 Apr 2021

Potential new COVID vaccine from Australia

Phase 1 trial results published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found a new subunit vaccine —an MF59-adjuvanted subunit vaccine using recombinant spike glycoprotein stabilized in a prefusion conformation by a novel molecular clamp — targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was safe and effective in producing an antigen-specific response in healthy adults.

26 Apr 2021

Study to evaluate how people with immune system deficiencies respond to COVID-19 vaccination

A study assessing how people with immune system deficiencies or dysregulations respond to COVID-19 vaccination has begun enrolling participants at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

26 Apr 2021

A detailed look at two cases of symptomatic COVID in vaccinated individuals

In a recent brief report published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Rockefeller University in New York described a case of two fully vaccinated individuals in whom they found subsequent breakthrough infections with variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), carrying a number of substitutions of interest.

25 Apr 2021

Study focuses on SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Wuhan and COVID-19 controls

Since the emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide via transmission among close human contacts. Early on, several public health interventions were implemented in Wuhan city and Hubei Province, including lockdowns, social distancing, traffic restrictions, stay-at-home policies, face mask requirements, building temporary hospitals, and centralized quarantine. There were 50,355 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan as of 28 January 2021.

25 Apr 2021

Antibody News and Research

Further Reading

COVID-19 donor antibodies show broad cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and related viruses

Peptide nucleocapsid vaccine candidate elicits protective T cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

SARS-CoV-2 recruits heme metabolites in antibody evasion

Researchers design "nanotraps" to capture and destroy SARS-CoV-2 viruses

SARS-CoV-2 clade linked to disease severity in the early phase of the pandemic

Nucleocapsid-based vaccines may prevent SARS-CoV-2 dissemination to distal organs

Nanobodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical model

Study reveals a hidden role of circulating microRNA as a driver of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study raises concern about limited immune response of transplant patients after COVID-19 vaccination

Scientists uncover an important clue to the conundrum of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Commonly-prescribed drug for IBD blunts COVID-19 vaccine response

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response robust in nursing home residents after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

UT Southwestern reports first cases of Brazilian variant of COVID-19 infection in North Texas

Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with more adverse events following mRNA vaccination

Real-world study in India finds COVISHIELD vaccine safe and effective

Recombinant protein vaccine fails expectations for SARS-CoV-2 neutralization

Potential new COVID vaccine from Australia

Study to evaluate how people with immune system deficiencies respond to COVID-19 vaccination

A detailed look at two cases of symptomatic COVID in vaccinated individuals

Study focuses on SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Wuhan and COVID-19 controls

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