Respiratory News and Research

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Single dose of J&J's Ad26.COV2.S vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 including in South Africa variant

One of these vaccines, the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine by Johnson & Johnson and Janssen, is a recombinant, replication-incompetent human adenovirus type 26 vector that encodes full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a prefusion-stabilized conformation.

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

SARS-CoV-2 limits type I and type III IFN protein biogenesis

New research led by Roy Parker of the University of Colorado Boulder finds that SARS-CoV-2 prevents the IFN response despite an increased presence of IFN-encoding mRNAs by suppressing transcriptional processes. Inhibition of IFN mRNAs triggers degradation from the activation of RNase L and the SARS-CoV-2 protein Nsp1.

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

The potential of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and treatment approaches against COVID-19

In their review paper recently published in the Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, a group of authors discusses currently available and forthcoming CRISPR-based diagnostic assays, as well as the possibility of using the CRISPR/Cas system as a salient treatment or prevention strategy in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 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

Two repurposed drugs and a blue dye show potential as SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors

A new multidisciplinary study from Australia, published in the open-access journal mBio, shows that three compounds used to treat cystic fibrosis, dry eye, and a specific medical dye may lead to future strategies for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

25 Apr 2021

Single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine induces immunity in CML patients

Researchers in the UK have shown that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induced antibody and cellular responses in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who were taking tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

25 Apr 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shows real-world efficacy, despite the circulation of B.1.1.7 variant

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study showing the real-world effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine at protecting against symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) when it is administered in line with the original dosing schedule.

25 Apr 2021

NIH to conduct large trial for COVID-19 polyclonal antibody therapies

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA are to conduct a large-scale clinical trial to evaluate a new fully-human polyclonal antibody therapy targeted at severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Apr 2021

Ongoing testing of immunized individuals will be key to mitigate future COVID-19 outbreaks

In rare cases, people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID and are immune to the virus can nevertheless develop the disease.

23 Apr 2021

DNA vaccine candidate induces potent immunity, offers protective efficacy in non-human primate models

A synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) developed at The Wistar Institute induced potent immune responses and afforded protective efficacy in non-human primate (NHP) models when given intradermally in abbreviated, low-dose immunization regimen.

23 Apr 2021

COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death for at least six months

As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that many survivors - even those who had mild cases - continue to manage a variety of health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved.

23 Apr 2021

Celastrol shows potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server focuses on the in-silico predictions to repurpose existing drug compounds, that may have the ability to reverse the SARS-CoV-2 gene expression induced in host cells.

23 Apr 2021

Striking difference identified between mRNA vaccination vs. SARS-CoV-2 infection immune responses

A team of scientists from the United States has recently compared the immune response elicited by natural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Their findings reveal that, unlike vaccination, natural SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a robust interferon response together with an induction of cytotoxic gene expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

22 Apr 2021

Preclinical study from NIH/Moderna: Correlates of SARS-CoV-2 immunity in non-human primates

Researchers in the United States have shown that the antibody response induced by the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a correlate of immune protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in non-human primates.

22 Apr 2021

Slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Tokyo could mean no Olympic and Paralympic Games

Researchers in Japan have warned that Tokyo's Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is set to start in July 2021, may need canceling if the rollout of vaccination to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues at the slow pace it is now.

22 Apr 2021

Respiratory symptoms more likely to develop when people use both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes

Exclusively using (or "vaping") e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking, but many people using e-cigarettes to quit smoking continue to smoke cigarettes.

22 Apr 2021

Respiratory News and Research

Single dose of J&J's Ad26.COV2.S vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 including in South Africa variant

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

SARS-CoV-2 limits type I and type III IFN protein biogenesis

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

Potential new COVID vaccine from Australia

The potential of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and treatment approaches against COVID-19

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

Two repurposed drugs and a blue dye show potential as SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors

Single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine induces immunity in CML patients

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shows real-world efficacy, despite the circulation of B.1.1.7 variant

NIH to conduct large trial for COVID-19 polyclonal antibody therapies

Ongoing testing of immunized individuals will be key to mitigate future COVID-19 outbreaks

DNA vaccine candidate induces potent immunity, offers protective efficacy in non-human primate models

COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death for at least six months

Celastrol shows potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

Striking difference identified between mRNA vaccination vs. SARS-CoV-2 infection immune responses

Preclinical study from NIH/Moderna: Correlates of SARS-CoV-2 immunity in non-human primates

Slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Tokyo could mean no Olympic and Paralympic Games

Respiratory symptoms more likely to develop when people use both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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