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Structural analogs of triterpenoids show strong inhibitory activity against coronaviruses

In a recent study published in the journal Pathogens, researchers carried out a molecular docking study for 17 structural analogs prepared from natural maslinic and oleanolic acids and screened them against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. They also experimentally validated the data by determining the half-maximal cytotoxic and inhibitory concentrations of each of the 17 compounds. The researchers investigated whether the compound with antiviral activity affected viral adsorption, replication, or viricidal effect using a plaque infectivity reduction assay.

9 Jun 2021

What are the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance in COVID-19 vaccine recipients?

An opinion paper by researchers from the US and Italy recently discussed various aspects of monitoring anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies before and after receiving COVID-19 vaccination to highlight the pros and cons of this monitoring strategy. This paper is published in the open-access journal Diagnostics.

9 Jun 2021

A closer look at how COVID-19 damages human lungs

A recent study conducted at the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first atomic-level detailed model of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) envelope protein when bound to human proteins within the lungs. The study was recently published in Nature Communications.

9 Jun 2021

Mix and match COVID-19 vaccines safe and effective: German study

A new preprint study posted to the medRxiv* server shows an AstraZeneca’s ChAdOx1-nCov-19 and Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine combination is immunologically superior to two AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-nCov-19 doses.

9 Jun 2021

NIH-funded study to explore liquid surface coatings for reducing catheter-associated infections

A novel liquid surface coating on human catheters could help reduce protein deposition that leads to urinary tract and bloodstream infections, according to researchers at the University of Maine and University of Notre Dame who are leading a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

9 Jun 2021

Microgel-coated mesenchymal stromal cells can reverse pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have shown that even after lung tissue has been damaged, it may be possible to reverse fibrosis and promote tissue repair through treatment with microgel-coated mesenchymal stromal cells.

9 Jun 2021

Senolytics reduce inflammation, illness, and mortality from COVID in older mice

Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of Minnesota showed that COVID-19 exacerbates the damaging impact of senescent cells in the body.

9 Jun 2021

Researchers identify novel gene that controls sleep/wake cycle in mice

That internal nagging feeling that drives you to seek sleep at night and wake in the morning to eat, work, and play, is, it turns out, genetic, and it's not just in people.

9 Jun 2021

Researchers use a unique approach to document the diet of Neanderthals

Neanderthals, extinct cousins of modern humans, occupied Western Eurasia before disappearing and although it was once thought that they travelled as far east as Uzbekistan, in recent years an international research team with the participation of the University of Valencia discovered that they reached two thousand kilometers further East, to the Altai Mountains of Siberia.

9 Jun 2021

Potent antibody responses to BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine among Japanese healthcare workers

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv* by Nakajima et al. (June 4th, 2021), the antibody responses of over 2,000 Japanese healthcare workers were tracked over a period of several months, with particular regard to serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

8 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.345 variant carrying E484K mutation detected in New York

The report, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, revealed that the variant detected has been spreading at an alarming rate since November. By February 2021, it accounted for 12.3 percent of all cases in the area.

8 Jun 2021

New atomic-level model helps explain how SARS-CoV-2 causes extensive lung damage

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 "envelope" protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs.

8 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 immunity persists for up to 11 months after natural infection

The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, determined how circulating antibody levels change after being infected with SARS-CoV-2.

8 Jun 2021

The potential of mRNA vaccines for a wide range of diseases

A new review article published in the journal Briefings in Functional Genomics focuses on the general characteristic features and mechanisms of mRNA vaccines. Further, this review has summarized the current progress of mRNA vaccines that have been developed for wide-ranging diseases, including COVID-19 disease.

8 Jun 2021

Antihistamines might be effective in long-COVID

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has recently revealed the therapeutic benefits of histamine receptor antagonists in reducing long-term symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). They have also indicated that T cell immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection vary between asymptomatic COVID-19 and long-COVID.

8 Jun 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 adapted to evade innate immunity

Researchers in the United States and the UK have conducted a study showing how the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) adapted to suppress host innate immune responses in lung epithelial cells.

8 Jun 2021

Researchers identify a novel host-directed therapeutic approach to COVID-19

Researchers in the UK have demonstrated the potential of modulating the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a novel host-directed therapeutic approach to protecting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

8 Jun 2021

MIT researchers develop a molecular assay to detect sub-picomolar levels of the SARS-CoV-2's receptor-binding domain

A team of researchers at MIT has developed a molecular assay to detect sub-picomolar levels of the SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) using computationally validated peptide beacons in a single-step detection through the production of a fluorescence signal.

8 Jun 2021

Cell-to-cell contact helps in spreading SARS-CoV-2, finds study

People aren’t the only ones who should be social distancing — new research shows our cells need to as well. Researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA, used in-culture techniques to confirm SARS-CoV-2 transmission via cell-to-cell contact.

8 Jun 2021

NIH researchers find that the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15’s uridine cleavage can evade the immune response

Research conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the USA shows that Nsp15 targets uridines (U). Following detection of U, Nsp15 can then further cleave a broad spectrum of RNA substrates.

8 Jun 2021