Spike Protein News and Research

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Monoclonal antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

Scientists from Germany have recently pointed out that the third booster dose of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in neutralizing the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.

15 Dec 2021

Risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome decreases after COVID-19 vaccination

A new study suggests that low GBS incidence in vaccinated patients compared to non-vaccinated people should encourage the active propagation of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.

15 Dec 2021

Structure of human receptor and Omicron variant

Researchers studied the complex structure of the receptor-binding domain of the omicron variant with the human host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.

15 Dec 2021

How fast has the Omicron strain been spreading in South Africa?

Scientists have shown the exponential growth of the Omicron strain found in Gauteng. They reported the doubling time of this strain to be equal to 3.38 days by analyzing its growth from November 8 to December 5, 2021. Based on the mutation accumulation profile, researchers revealed that this strain began to diverge between October 28 and November 5, 2021.

15 Dec 2021

Severity of SARS-CoV-2 compared to other human coronaviruses in children

Researchers observed that symptom presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infections at the community level was very similar to that of endemic human coronavirus infections.

14 Dec 2021

New mRNA vaccine platform provides stronger protection against SARS-CoV-2 delta variant

A group of researchers from various institutions developed a nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 N protein (mRNA-N) and is formulated in lipid nanoparticles for this investigation (LNP).

14 Dec 2021

Omicron variant may strike double vaccinated

Largely, scientists are skeptical that the Omicron variant can infect vaccinated individuals. However, a new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server has conducted neutralization assays using an Omicron isolate obtained from patients residing in the United Kingdom.

13 Dec 2021

Iota-carrageenan inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs

Scientists have recently reported the efficacy of carrageenan against both the SARS-CoV-2 original strain as well as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta VOCs.

13 Dec 2021

Glycans strengthen interaction between viral spike proteins and ACE2 receptors on host cells

A new study shows that the ACE2 and RBD of coronavirus spike fragments have different binding strengths and dissociation rates when they are glycosylated and non-glycosylated.

13 Dec 2021

Evaluating the virucidal activity of blue LED light against SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study provides some possible explanations to the mechanisms by which antiviral activity is exerted by blue LED light and indicated that the alteration of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein requires the presence of photosensitizers.

13 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant may evade host immune responses

A recent study has demonstrated that the omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has a higher ability to evade antibody-mediated neutralization than other variants of concern.

13 Dec 2021

Researchers develop a universal SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody

A new study has been published in Frontiers in Immunology, where scientists developed a universal SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody, MG1141A.

13 Dec 2021

MV130 immunotherapy boosts natural and vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 immunity in mice

A new mouse study found that intranasal administration of MV130 protected against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

13 Dec 2021

Cellular properties of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein RBD in virus-infected African green monkey kidney epithelial cells

Researchers from the Biological Defence Programme of Singapore have investigated six of these antibodies.

13 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody responses in healthcare workers that suffered from COVID-19 one year ago

Researchers have been investigating the immune response in previously infected healthcare workers after they receive these vaccines.

13 Dec 2021

A method to eliminate mutants in the furin cleavage site of SARS-CoV-2 in Calu-3 cells

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12 Dec 2021

A new rapid and inexpensive PCR method to detect SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

A new study reports a method using four PCR tests to distinguish infection with the Omicron variant from that caused by other variants.

12 Dec 2021

New tool to help map immune escape with SARS-CoV-2 mutations

A new study discusses a computational program that can be used to substitute for actual experimental evidence of the biologic impact of new mutations.

12 Dec 2021

First locally acquired infection of Omicron variant confirmed in San Diego

Officials at the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, working in collaboration with scientists at University of California San Diego and Scripps Research, have announced the second confirmed case — and first locally acquired infection — of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

12 Dec 2021

UCLA research points the way towards a longer-lasting COVID vaccine

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have identified rare, naturally occurring T cells that are capable of targeting a protein found in SARS-CoV-2 and a range of other coronaviruses.

11 Dec 2021