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Early interferon therapy may mitigate COVID-19 severity

A recent review of COVID-19 therapies explores the utility of interferons in the battle against severe COVID-19, and concludes that they deserve further development.

26 Nov 2020

Inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 cell entry with monoclonal antibodies against staphylococcal enterotoxin B superantigen

In a recent cutting-edge study, US researchers unveiled an anti-staphylococcal enterotoxin B monoclonal antibody that can be repurposed to target the cleavage site of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and, in turn, inhibit viral infection. Their findings are currently available on bioRxiv preprint server.

25 Nov 2020

Biosensor assay SARS-CoV-2 antibody test may predict COVID-19 severity in patients

Researchers in New York, USA, have found an association of mortality with an early humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 infection within the first few days after onset of symptoms (DAOS), using a highly sensitive and automated testing-on-a-probe (TOP) biosensor assays for SARS-CoV-2.

24 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2's spike protein mutations have slowed, study finds

A team of researchers at the School of Information Sciences in Illinois, USA, has revealed the rate of mutation in the 29 proteins that make up the SARS-CoV-2 microbe.

23 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion mutations may evade current vaccine candidates, study finds

A thought-provoking new study reports that the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike antibodies elicited by natural infection may not be able to neutralize emerging strains that display deletion mutations in their genomic RNA.

23 Nov 2020

Chicago seroprevalence study shows COVID-19 cases 16 times higher than currently predicted

A startling new case study of Chicago, led by a team of researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA, suggests a 16-fold higher incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than previously thought. This is judging from seroprevalence (antibody presence blood testing) figures, rather than the number of RT-PCR-positives reported there (via swab sample testing of symptomatic patients).

23 Nov 2020

Pomegranate peel extract shows potential as inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers led by first author Relja Suručić from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, have studied the use of pomegranate peel extracts in preventing infections with SARS-CoV-2.

22 Nov 2020

Furin inhibition may mitigate severe COVID-19, study finds

Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, a researcher at the Institute for Functional Medicine in the United States, has explained the role of furin protease in developing severe COVID-19 illness.

20 Nov 2020

Genetic variations of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in cats

Using cats as an animal model to study severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission, researchers have determined the virus has a narrow transmission bottleneck.

19 Nov 2020

Asymptomatic individuals mount polyfunctional antibody response to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in France have conducted a study showing that people who are asymptomatic following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – elicit a polyfunctional antibody response to the virus.

16 Nov 2020

Metabolic biomarkers could predict COVID-19 severity

A new study suggests that metabolic biomarkers could possibly predict the severity of COVID-19 in patients.

16 Nov 2020

New methodology predicts mutation hotspots in SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers in Sweden and China have presented a new methodology for predicting mutation “hotspot” sites within severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

15 Nov 2020

Novel mutations in SARS-CoV-2 may explain high pathogenicity of COVID-19

Researchers in Korea and the United States have identified novel genetic variants that demonstrate the active mutational progression of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

15 Nov 2020

Spike-based DNA vaccine shows excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2 in a hamster model

A study conducted at the United States Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases shows how a relatively simple full-length DNA vaccine against spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can elicit neutralizing antibody response in an animal model – even after a single shot with simple jet injection technique.

11 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein optimized for conditions present in human airways

Researchers from Belgium and Germany demonstrated how the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is fine-tuned towards the temperature and protease conditions of the human airways, which in turn enhances viral transmission and subsequent pathology. Their study is available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

10 Nov 2020

Endothelial cells resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from Imperial College London has conducted a series of in vitro studies to investigate the susceptibility of endothelial cells to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

10 Nov 2020

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutations resistant to antibodies

Using a set of different monoclonal antibodies, researchers determined different mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that leads to resistance. Understanding these resistant mutations is important in developing effective therapeutic strategies.

10 Nov 2020

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 not the only virus-receptors to mediate SARS-CoV-2 entry

However, a recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 uncovers the major role played by the N-terminal domain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in host infection. This could be of great use in measuring the usefulness of antibodies used in convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19.

9 Nov 2020

Reducing the airborne transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2

Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RR:C19), an open-access overlay journal published by the MIT Press that accelerates peer review of COVID-19-related research preprints, is currently soliciting reviews of the following COVID-19 preprints.

6 Nov 2020

D614G mutation enhances stability of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

A new study, published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, has explored this issue further. The researchers have found that this mutation is associated with structural and energetic changes that cause this spike variant to become more available during infection, thus rendering the associated strain more infective.

4 Nov 2020