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Pomegranate peel extract shows potential as inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers led by first author Relja Suručić from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, have studied the use of pomegranate peel extracts in preventing infections with SARS-CoV-2.

22 Nov 2020

COVID-19 potentially has negative impacts on male fertility

A review recently published in the Journal of Medical Virology has discussed some of the effects that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – may have on male fertility.

22 Nov 2020

Around 10 SARS-CoV-2 virions per cell in human body, study finds

A new study has found that there are about ten virus particles in each cell in the body. The research team from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the University of California in the USA estimate that each infected person carries around 109-1011 virions during peak infection.

18 Nov 2020

Natural products and herbal medicines show promise in fight against COVID-19

Researchers in China and the United States have called for more research into the potential prophylactic effects of natural products and herbal medicines on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

17 Nov 2020

Goblet cells are prime target for SARS-CoV-2, study finds

A recent study reports that in the airway of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a type of airway epithelial cell – called a goblet cell – presents a prime target for the virus and plays a vital role in promoting viral replication in this tissue.

16 Nov 2020

Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract nasal spray could help COVID-19 patients

United States based researchers have published a report exploring the potential role of Xylitol and Grapefruit seed extract (in the form of a nasal spray) in treating COVID-19.

16 Nov 2020

Drugs targeting neutrophils could reduce ARDS in severe COVID-19

Scientists in Taiwan recently published a report on their use of anti-neutrophil strategies to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) – a life-threatening condition that can arise in critical COVID-19 cases – in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics.

15 Nov 2020

Promising new antivirals target arboviruses and SARS-CoV-2: Nodosome inhibitors

A new study describes two promising small molecules that inhibit a host cell factor, called nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2), that inhibits the replication and spread of many arboviruses. This could lead to the development of broad-spectrum antivirals. The study's findings have been published on the preprint server bioRxiv*.

10 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein optimized for conditions present in human airways

Researchers from Belgium and Germany demonstrated how the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is fine-tuned towards the temperature and protease conditions of the human airways, which in turn enhances viral transmission and subsequent pathology. Their study is available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

10 Nov 2020

Research shows how remdesivir inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication

In a recent bioRxiv preprint, a research team from Germany, Goran Kokic et al. study the molecular mechanism of remdesivir-induced stalling of RdRp - using synthetic RNA chemistry, biochemistry, and cryo-electron microscopy.

2 Nov 2020

Gut's immune response to SARS-CoV-2 very different from the lung

Megan L. Stanifer et al. study the immune response in the human gut upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study published as a bioRxiv* preprint reveals a robust proinflammatory response: a cell type-specific or a tissue-specific regulation of interferon-mediated signaling during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

27 Oct 2020

Advancements in research on cancer signal transduction and treatment

Cancer is driven by numerous genetic and epigenetic changes occurring at the cellular level. These changes drive normal cells to proliferate and escape processes that usually regulate their survival and migration.

27 Oct 2020

Research on autophagy and coronavirus, implicates ULK1

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered that the betacoronavirus-encoded papain-like protease disrupts autophagy, partly by targeting ULK1. Their work is reported on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020.

27 Oct 2020

NRP-1 receptor potentiates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity

The COVID-19 pandemic is still actively spreading in many parts of the world, causing redoubled efforts to develop antivirals and vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A recent study explores the role of a second type of cell surface receptor, called neuropilin, in the virus's entry into the host cell and its subsequent replication.

26 Oct 2020

Neuropilin-1: A new route of SARS-CoV-2 entry

A new study published in the reputed journal Science in October 2020 reports the potential therapeutic value of the second type of host transmembrane receptor, called neuropilins, which attach to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and may enhance its infectivity.

25 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations dictate severity of COVID-19 disease

A recent study by researchers from Semmelweis University and Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary, published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020, shows the relationship of specific mutations on the disease's outcome.

22 Oct 2020

Brain metabolic changes associated with loss of smell in COVID-19

A recent study detailed in a preprint paper published in medRxiv, researchers from Belgium, discuss how they investigated possible central nervous system (CNS) involvement in COVID-19 patients with a sudden loss of smell using a hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (PET-MR).

21 Oct 2020

Precision epidemiology could help explain variability in COVID-19 symptoms

Researchers from National Taiwan University have presented a multi-omics view of how mutations in angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) affect infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and progression of coronaviruses disease 2019 (COVID-19).

20 Oct 2020

Obesity changes ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in mice: Implications for COVID-19

Researchers studying young obese mice found that expression of ACE2, a receptor in host cells that binds to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is higher in the lungs and trachea of obese mice. The finding could partly explain why obesity is a high-risk factor for COVID-19.

18 Oct 2020

Amino acid produced by the brain could prevent temporal lobe epileptic seizure

A team of researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine has found that an amino acid produced by the brain could play a crucial role in preventing a type of epileptic seizure.

14 Oct 2020