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Glycosylation a significant element in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine design, says study

A new study by researchers from Taiwan and the US suggests that the removal of unnecessary glycans from spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposes highly conserved sequences and opens the door for the development of broadly protective vaccines against the virus and its variants.

28 May 2021

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 epitopes targeted by current vaccination could help improve future vaccines

Researchers in the United States have identified antibody-inducing epitopes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that could be used for future diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine design.

28 May 2021

Nanobody inhalation found to be effective against COVID-19 in hamsters

In a recent paper, researchers describe an aerosolized nanobody formulation that was found to effectively block SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian hamsters.

27 May 2021

Could GRP78 be a therapeutic target against COVID-19?

A new study by a team of researchers at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, USA, reports a potentially important therapeutic target in the form of a molecule called GRP78 that promotes the entry and protein production by many viruses. The team's paper has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

26 May 2021

Study shows how neutralizing antibodies are produced after SARS-CoV-2 infection

A research group from Osaka University led by Professor Hisashi Arase and consisting of researchers from the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, the Institute for Protein Research, the Immunology Frontier Research Center, the Center for Infectious Diseases, and the Graduate School of Medicine has discovered for the first time that both neutralizing antibodies that protect against infection as well as infection-enhancing antibodies that increase infectivity are produced after infection with SARS-CoV-2 by analyzing antibodies derived from COVID-19 patients.

25 May 2021

Next-generation SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine candidate elicits powerful immunity in preclinical trials

New research – by scientists at the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Iowa in the USA – describes a novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate that has achieved impressive immunologic results in mouse studies.

25 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 UK variant may induce more inflammation, study suggests

Since COVID-19 was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, many different variants of its causative virus – SARS-CoV-2 – have emerged. Through increased viral fitness, some of these have risen to predominance over earlier variants in a remarkably short period of time. New research, by a team of scientists at major institutions in France, examines the reasons behind this phenomenon in one such variant of concern (VOC), the so-called UK variant.

25 May 2021

Discovery of novel SARS-related coronaviruses in bats

In a recent study published on the bioRxiv* server, Peng Zhou, Zheng-Li Shi and colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with collaboration from scientists at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, have identified a new lineage of SARS-related coronaviruses that utilize bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for cell entry, which is the same receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect host cells.

25 May 2021

Why COVID-19 patients have more pathogenic bacteria in their noses

Researchers compared the nasal microbiome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, healthy individuals, and healthcare workers. These studies indicated an increase in the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa present in the nasal microbiome of COVID-19 patients, which may be responsible for other secondary infections.

24 May 2021

Novel natural compounds may help treat COVID-19, study suggests

A new study in the journal Chemistry Europe reports two natural compounds identified by virtual screening and computational modeling as having great promise for the development of drugs against SARS-CoV-2.

24 May 2021

Researchers identify aluminum hydroxide/TLR9 agonist as potential adjuvant to improve RBD-based COVID-19 vaccine efficacy

The study findings reveal that RBD-based vaccines adjuvanted with the formulation can induce strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing immunity in young and aged mice. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 May 2021

Genetically engineered intestinal organoids reveal potential treatment targets against SARS-CoV-2

Using CRISPR/Cas9 and human intestinal organoids to study genes implicated in the biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), researchers from the Netherlands identified a specific serine protease (TMPRSS2) as an attractive pan-coronavirus therapeutic target. Their exciting findings are available in a study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 May 2021

Research suggests Garcinia kola extract might suppress severe COVID-19 cytokine storms

Researchers in the UK and Nigeria have conducted a study showing that Garcinia kola seed extract and garcinoic acid may provide therapeutic benefits in the late stage of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other coronavirus infections.

24 May 2021

STING agonist diABZI shows promise against SARS-CoV-2 variants

COVID-19 vaccines are the most effective way to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. For people who are already infected, new research suggests the small molecule stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist-1, diABZI, may be effective in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection — including those caused by variants.

23 May 2021

Decreasing activity of ZMPSTE24 protease with age and comorbidities may make elderly COVID-19 patients vulnerable

Studies have shown that circulating levels of PAI-1, the coagulation cascade activator, are considerably higher in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory illness compared to patients with bacterial-sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Hence the increase in PAI-1 levels is recognized as an early marker of endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 patients.

23 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mutations strengthen RBD-ACE2 binding, making the virus more infectious

In January 2020, the first complete severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome sequence was deposited to GenBank. Since then, the amount of new genome sequences has increased rapidly at GenBank and GISAID. This has laid the foundations for analyzing the virulence, antigenicity, pathogenicity, and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 mutations.

22 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants exhibit enhanced affinity towards the ACE2 receptor

In a short correspondence paper recently uploaded to the Lancet by Ramanathan, Muthukumar et al. (May 19th, 2021) the affinity of labeled SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain proteins sourced from each of these two variants of concern towards human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) recombinant proteins is investigated using microscale thermophoresis, confirming the enhanced affinity towards the receptor observed in other studies.

22 May 2021

Modeling SARS-CoV-2 spike/human ACE2 complex identifies high-affinity variants that cause greater transmissibility

The study, published in the Journal of Molecular Biology, shows promise in detecting potential new variants that can cause the faster spread of COVID-19. The recent mutations and variants detected have caused the rapid spread of the infection in many countries.

21 May 2021

How do common mutations in SARS-CoV-2’s spike affect its binding affinity with host cell receptors?

Antibodies produced during a previous case of COVID-19 or vaccine-induced immunity are targeted towards S protein, where the neutralizing antibodies attach to the Spike RBD domain. Some of the variants have mutations in their RBD domain, causing resistance to the neutralizing antibodies. However, the effect of these mutations on the affinity and kinetics of the binding of Spike RBD to ACE2 is not clear. A new study has been published on the bioRxiv* preprint server, which deals with the study of affinity and kinetic analysis of the interface between Spike RBD and ACE2 at physiological temperatures.

21 May 2021

Facets of SARS-CoV-2 infection and animal models

A new study in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology discusses the ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome of the virus, and the mechanisms by which it establishes infection within the host cell. The researchers also summarize the development of animal models of COVID-19, which will both help understand the clinical features of the illness, and indicate new approaches for the treatment of the infection.

21 May 2021

ACE2 News and Research

Glycosylation a significant element in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine design, says study

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 epitopes targeted by current vaccination could help improve future vaccines

Nanobody inhalation found to be effective against COVID-19 in hamsters

Could GRP78 be a therapeutic target against COVID-19?

Study shows how neutralizing antibodies are produced after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Next-generation SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine candidate elicits powerful immunity in preclinical trials

SARS-CoV-2 UK variant may induce more inflammation, study suggests

Discovery of novel SARS-related coronaviruses in bats

Why COVID-19 patients have more pathogenic bacteria in their noses

Novel natural compounds may help treat COVID-19, study suggests

Researchers identify aluminum hydroxide/TLR9 agonist as potential adjuvant to improve RBD-based COVID-19 vaccine efficacy

Genetically engineered intestinal organoids reveal potential treatment targets against SARS-CoV-2

Research suggests Garcinia kola extract might suppress severe COVID-19 cytokine storms

STING agonist diABZI shows promise against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Decreasing activity of ZMPSTE24 protease with age and comorbidities may make elderly COVID-19 patients vulnerable

SARS-CoV-2 mutations strengthen RBD-ACE2 binding, making the virus more infectious

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants exhibit enhanced affinity towards the ACE2 receptor

Modeling SARS-CoV-2 spike/human ACE2 complex identifies high-affinity variants that cause greater transmissibility

How do common mutations in SARS-CoV-2’s spike affect its binding affinity with host cell receptors?

Facets of SARS-CoV-2 infection and animal models

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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