Capsid News and Research

RSS

Engineers use electric fields to manipulate viruses in microfluidic device

The technique uses microfluidics -- the submillimeter control of fluids within a precise, geometric structure. On what is basically a tricked-out microscope slide, chemical engineers from Michigan Technological University have been able to manipulate viruses in a microfluidic device using electric fields.

3 Nov 2020

Antiviral inhibitor DDX42 shows broad activity against Chikungunya, HIV and SARS-CoV-2

By exploiting type 1 interferon's ability to foster an antagonistic cellular environment for viral replication, a research group from France pinpointed DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX42 as an intrinsic inhibitor of HIV, but also other pathogenic viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Chikungunya virus.

29 Oct 2020

D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral fitness and infectivity

Researchers from the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Duke University, Durham NC, USA, recently analyzed the D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 in the context of a soluble S ectodomain construct. Their study has been published in the preprint server bioRxiv.

14 Oct 2020

Suramin shows promise as COVID-19 treatment

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv reports the elucidation of the mechanism of inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by a non-nucleotide inhibitor called suramin. This is the first such compound to be shown to have such activity and shows promise for use as a repurposed drug against COVID-19.

12 Oct 2020

Scientists recreate initial steps of HIV infection in a test tube

Accomplishing a feat that had been a pipe dream for decades, scientists have recreated in a test tube the first steps of infection by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

9 Oct 2020

Development of a coarse-grained model of SARS-CoV-2 virion

A team of scientists of the University of Chicago and the University of California San Diego has developed a coarse-grained (CG) model of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virion. The model can be used as a valuable resource to perform multiscale simulations of the SARS-CoV-2 virion. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers uncover a new parvovirus strategy for reaching the cell nucleus

Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), in collaboration with American scientists, have uncovered a new parvovirus strategy for reaching the cell nucleus which is their site of replication.

24 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 Neucleocapside (N) protein is heavily glycosylated

However, the nucleocapsid (N) protein is also extremely abundant and, therefore, a useful target for both vaccine and diagnostic test development. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reveals the structure of this protein, a valuable step in using it for these purposes.

30 Aug 2020

Advances in Virus Epigenetics

Growing evidence shows viruses exploit epigenetic processes to control their life cycles but epigentic regulation of viral infections is not fully understood.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 25 Aug 2020

UD researchers gain new insights into hepatitis B virus' genetic blueprint

Researchers at the University of Delaware, using supercomputing resources and collaborating with scientists at Indiana University, have gained new understanding of the virus that causes hepatitis B and the "spiky ball" that encloses the virus's genetic blueprint.

13 Aug 2020

Engineered capsids for improved gene delivery to the retina and cornea

A rational design approach created novel variants of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids.

13 Aug 2020

Researchers discover new method to treat herpes viruses

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new method to treat human herpes viruses. The new broad-spectrum method targets physical properties in the genome of the virus rather than viral proteins, which have previously been targeted.

24 Jul 2020

Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 proteome via visual tools

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in July 2020 shows how this can be advanced at a greater speed by combining experimental results with homology models obtained by high-throughput pipelines. This will help produce new hypotheses that will show novel druggable targets for effective drug development.

21 Jul 2020

New insight into the SARS-CoV-2 infection process

Canadian researchers from the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, have found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be using a unique method to gain entry into the cells.

16 Jul 2020

Researchers uncover new mechanism for designing antiviral drugs for dengue virus

A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered a new mechanism for designing antiviral drugs for dengue virus. The study is currently available in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Jul 2020

Study identifies three novel broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 cell entry inhibitors

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Cornell University in the U.S. just described several new inhibitors of human coronavirus spike proteins by screening a library of approved drugs with SARS-S and MERS-S pseudotyped particle entry assays. Their exciting findings are currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

13 Jul 2020

Striking CryoEM image of SARS-CoV-2

A new study by researchers from the UK and Germany and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the results of a detailed study of the S protein on the intact virus, using cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) and tomography. This could help understand the conformation of the S protein on the virion and how it interacts with neutralizing antibodies.

30 Jun 2020

Growth, adaptation and neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 with acute-phase serum

One recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the results of growing and characterizing the virus, as well as the development of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of acutely infected hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

22 Jun 2020

Research explores the biophysical behavior of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein

In a groundbreaking paper currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, the researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and Stony Brook University showed how nucleocapsid protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is dynamic, disordered and phase separates with RNA – informing, in turn, the discovery of drugs that disrupt viral packaging.

21 Jun 2020