Interferons News and Research

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Obese persons have greater risk of developing severe COVID-19

The probability that an obese person will develop severe COVID-19 is high regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, and the presence of co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart or lung disease, according to a study by Brazilian researchers published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.

15 Oct 2020

Researchers unravel new mechanism of cell survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Researchers at The Wistar Institute unraveled a mechanism employed by chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells for their survival.

30 Sep 2020

Study shows how human cells fight viral infections with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2

Science's pursuits of unraveling how human cells fight viral infections kicked into high gear in 2020 with the devastating emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

30 Sep 2020

A TLR2 agonist reduces SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory tract of ferret model

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, Professor Miles W. Carroll et al. study an agonist for reducing the SARS-CoV-2's viral load. They show that prophylactic intra-nasal administration of TLR2/6 (toll-like receptor) agonist, INNA-051, reduces viral RNA in the nose and throat, in a ferret model.

30 Sep 2020

Genetic mutations hinder immune response in severe COVID-19

Now, a truly international team of nearly 140 researchers aimed to determine why some people develop severe illness when once infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.

28 Sep 2020

Auto-antibodies may explain why some people develop severe COVID-19

Now, a new study by an international team of health experts shows that some life-threatening cases of COVID-19 can be traced to specific weak spots in the patients' immune system.

28 Sep 2020

Patients with severe COVID-19 have antibodies blocking body's important defense mechanisms

Persons with critical corona-disease may have antibodies blocking the body´s most important defence mechanisms.

25 Sep 2020

About 10% patients with severe disease create auto-antibodies that attack the immune system

People infected by the novel coronavirus can have symptoms that range from mild to deadly. Now, two new analyses suggest that some life-threatening cases can be traced to weak spots in patients' immune systems.

25 Sep 2020

Faulty genes and an autoimmune condition linked to severe COVID-19 in young, healthy people

More than 10 percent of young and healthy people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies that attack not the virus, but the immune system itself, new research shows. Another 3.5 percent, at least, carry a specific kind of genetic mutation.

25 Sep 2020

New study may explain why more men than women die from COVID-19

New findings by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators help explain why some people with COVID-19 develop severe disease.

25 Sep 2020

HIV drugs cause immune-system changes that can improve resistance to viral infections

Drugs currently used to keep the HIV virus in check also cause immune-system changes that might make humans better able to resist viral infections – but might also cause harmful inflammation, according to a study published today in Cell Reports Medicine.

23 Sep 2020

BU researchers find how SARS-CoV-2 infection may drive deadly lung inflammation

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, requires models that can duplicate disease development in humans, identify potential targets and enable drug testing.

21 Sep 2020

Ineffective immune responses may be responsible for COVID-19 mortality rates in men and the elderly

News-Medical speaks to Dr. Nicole Lieberman about her latest research that discovered delayed immune responses may affect COVID-19 mortality rates.

18 Sep 2020

Scientists explain why men are at higher risk from COVID-19

Published in the journal PLOS Biology, the study aimed to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive the varying responses of the infected individuals among different patient demographics, including sex and age.

9 Sep 2020

Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 risk

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers from Laval University and McGill University in Canada reviewed evidence from 18 relevant studies on a possible interaction between influenza vaccines on non-influenza respiratory disease (NIRD).

6 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

SARS-CoV-2 ORF9c responsible for immune evasion and efficient infection of host

A recent study by researchers at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and the University of California San Francisco and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that a protein encoded by the subgenomic sequence ORF9c of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the low antiviral response in infected humans, enabling the successful replication of the virus in the host.

21 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral factors to promote infection in human lung cells

Now, a new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that under conditions resembling those in vivo, IFNs may promote efficient viral invasion instead.

20 Aug 2020

JAK inhibitors or type I interferon shown to reduce mortality in COVID-19

Now, a new study by researchers at Yale University and published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 reports that the use of two drug categories, namely, JAK inhibitors and Type I interferons (IFNs), is associated with a dramatic improvement in mortality in COVID-19.

13 Aug 2020

C-type lectin receptors play a role in SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 confirms and extends earlier findings showing that a type of sugar-based receptor on innate immune cells promotes the entry of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into other cells that carry the viral receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

12 Aug 2020