ACE2 News and Research

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Genetic variants of human ACE2 are differentially recognized by SARS-CoV-2

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin reveals that the genetic variants of human angiotensin 2 (ACE2) receptors can have altered recognition by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

18 Sep 2020

Researchers develop non-infectious nanoparticle probes to study SARS-CoV-2

Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, submitted their findings to ACS Nano, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, on their collaboration to develop SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle probes that are used to study fundamental interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins and human cells.

18 Sep 2020

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) platform that produces VLPs expressing the important spike antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Sep 2020

Key China COVID-19 study produced results that influenced subsequent research on coronavirus

Early in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small study in China produced results that influenced subsequent research on the virus.

18 Sep 2020

Study invalidates Ebselen and other broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

Other novel compounds with Mpro inhibitory activity have also been claimed to have antiviral activity. These include ebselen, disulfiram, tideglusib, carmofur, shikonin, and PX-12. A new research paper discusses the role of these molecules as potential Mpro inhibitors in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

18 Sep 2020

Study sheds new light on the mechanism of COVID-19 infection

The spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can adopt at least ten distinct structural states, when in contact with the human virus receptor ACE2, according to research from the Francis Crick Institute published in Nature today.

18 Sep 2020

Engineered, high-affinity ACE2 receptors neutralize SARS-CoV-2

In a study published in the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Osaka University Japan, discuss how they engineered ACE2 to enhance its affinity to RBD in human cells.

17 Sep 2020

Wearing eyeglasses protects against SARS-CoV-2

A team of scientists from China suggests that people who wear eyeglasses for more than 8 hours a day may be less susceptible to infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study is published recently in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

17 Sep 2020

Flexibility of glycosylated membrane-bound ACE2 suggests mechanical energy source in opening of SARS-CoV-2 spike

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17 Sep 2020

Ceftazidime flagged as a potential inhibitor of the SARS-COV-2 virus

After screening more than 3,500 FDA-approved drugs and small molecules, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that ceftazidime, an antibiotic approved for use in treating pneumonia, binds to the receptors that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to in human cells.

17 Sep 2020

Optimal antibody combinations and Fc binding inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A recent study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Rockefeller University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 shows that a combination of neutralizing antibodies with intact Fc effector function can effectively reduce the viral load and prevent infection.

17 Sep 2020

Anti-CD73 molecule CPI-006 activates B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause an immense impact across many parts of the world, the role played by immune responses is becoming more evident every day. A recent funded paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 reports the initiation of a Phase I trial of a drug that increases antibody and cell-mediated immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Sep 2020

Conditions linked to obesity leave the lungs of obese patients more susceptible to COVID-19

Conditions related to obesity, including inflammation and leaky gut, leave the lungs of obese patients more susceptible to COVID-19 and may explain why they are more likely to die from the disease, UTSW scientists say in a new article published online in eLife.

16 Sep 2020

Candidate monoclonal antibody shows hope as COVID-19 treatment

Researchers in the United States have described the effectiveness of a candidate monoclonal antibody currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 trial as a therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

16 Sep 2020

Heparan sulfate aids COVID-19 virus to penetrate human lung cells

A molecule known as ACE2 sits like a doorknob on the outer surfaces of the cells that line the lungs. Since January 2020, researchers have known that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, primarily uses ACE2 to enter these cells and establish respiratory infections.

16 Sep 2020

New images capture startlingly high SARS-CoV-2 viral loads

Now, a team of scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine produced striking images in respiratory tract cultures of the infectious form of the SARS-CoV-2 produced by infected epithelial cells.

16 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 N protein forms biomolecular condensates with viral RNA

Now, a study by researchers from the University of California has shown that the N protein forms biomolecular condensates with the viral RNA in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The research titled, ‘SARS CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein forms condensates with viral genomic RNA’, was published on the preprint server bioRxiv on September 14th, 2020.

15 Sep 2020

Can amodiaquine short circuit this pandemic?

A recent study by the US researchers highlights the value of the human organ chip technology as a more robust and physiologically relevant platform for rapid drug repurposing, and suggest that amodiaquine may be used to prevent the infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

15 Sep 2020

COVID-19 works with the body's microbiota to increase disease severity in obese and diabetic patients

The combined effects of the body's microbiota working together with COVID-19 in the lungs could explain the severity of the disease in people with obesity and diabetes, according to a new article published today in eLife.

15 Sep 2020

Sex and gender not receiving enough attention in COVID-19 trials

Researchers in Denmark and the Netherlands have conducted a study showing that sex and gender are not being adequately considered in clinical trials investigating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

15 Sep 2020