Spike Protein News and Research

RSS

Salk Institute expands research to find treatments and cures for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the globe, the Salk Institute joins in efforts to understand the fundamental science behind the novel coronavirus to pave the way to treatments and cures.

30 Jun 2020

Spike protein and human ACE2 binding ability shows SARS-CoV-2 viral adaptation

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports some important findings that could shed light on this question. As the pandemic marches on, having claimed over 500,000 lives and caused well over 10 million infections to date, the task of defining and predicting factors that predispose to infectivity across species becomes ever more critical.

30 Jun 2020

Study: Even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus

A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus.

30 Jun 2020

Modified Vaccinia Ankara-based vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2

Now, a new study by researchers at Emory University, the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Ragon Institute and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the development of a promising new vaccine candidate that may rapidly and effectively induce the production of neutralizing antibodies against the spike protein of the virus.

30 Jun 2020

A glycan analysis of SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 complex

Researchers in the U.S. have produced molecular dynamic simulations of the Spike protein found on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its interaction with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

29 Jun 2020

Brazilian startup to develop a low-cost high-performance COVID-19 diagnostic test

Researchers at Biolinker, a biotech startup based in São Paulo, Brazil, are developing a low-cost high-performance COVID-19 diagnostic test using only locally sourced inputs.

26 Jun 2020

Genes associated with SARS-CoV-2 human lung cell infection

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 attempts to make sense of this data to identify viral genes that are explicitly expressed in the cells infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This could help reveal new therapeutic targets.

26 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 has been evolving for at least 7 years

The burning question is how novel viruses acquire the ability to recognize, bind to and enter human cells for the first time – whether this is dependent only on viral proteins recognizing host cell proteins, or adaptations in other viral processes that allow replication in a human host.

25 Jun 2020

Entos Pharmaceuticals selects two lead DNA vaccine candidates for COVID-19

Entos Pharmaceuticals, a healthcare biotechnology company developing nucleic acid medicines with its Fusogenix drug delivery platform, today announced the selection of two lead candidates for a pan-coronavirus Fusogenix DNA vaccine from its prototyping program launched at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

25 Jun 2020

Early childhood vaccinations may offer protection against COVID-19

A group of Lithuanian and Kurdish scientists have raised a hypothesis that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could protect children from COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Study assesses impact of anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in COVID-19 disease

The current COVID-19 pandemic is still very much active in most parts of the world. In the absence of effective antiviral drugs or vaccines, scientists are studying the use of blood plasma from convalescent COVID-19 patients, banking on its neutralizing antibody content.

25 Jun 2020

Immune response variations across the COVID-19 spectrum

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes differences in the adaptive and innate immune response in mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. This may mean that permanent immune responses occur only in patients who recover from severe COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Platelets may be contributing to COVID-19

The current pandemic of COVID-19 is characterized mainly by severe acute respiratory distress of the lungs, but other organ dysfunctions are also being observed, including the heart and blood vessels. Now, a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 describes the abnormal activation of platelets in this disease and the link between this phenomenon and poor outcomes for COVID-19 patients.

24 Jun 2020

Effective neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by synthetic nanobodies targeting the spike protein

In their recent bioRxiv paper, a multinational group of researchers reported rapid isolation and characterization of nanobodies from a synthetic library (known as sybodies) that target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein – with a strikingly high neutralization ability.

24 Jun 2020

Structured 'cut-and-paste' design enables streamlined development of SARS-CoV-2 molecular probes

A seminal study by US researchers, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, demonstrates how structure-based design can be efficiently employed to develop molecular probes targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike and its domains, with possible future use in diagnostics, treatment and vaccine development.

24 Jun 2020

Kerafast offers the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research

Kerafast Inc., developers of an online platform to facilitate access to unique lab-made bioresearch materials, today announced the availability of the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research applications. The system, developed by the Michael Whitt laboratory at University of Tennessee, enables studies of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness at just biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) containment.

From Kerafast 24 Jun 2020

Avacta provides update on COVID-19 rapid antigen test development partnership with Cytiva

Avacta Group plc is pleased to announce that the rapid test strips to detect SARS-COV-2 spike protein have been evaluated by Avacta’s partners at Cytiva.

From Cytiva Life Sciences 24 Jun 2020

Abnormal findings in testicular tissue of COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 mostly undetected

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 9.263 million cases and taken more than 477,000 lives as of June 24, 2020 – just six months after the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, was reported. The illness, called COVID-19 disease, caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a severe pneumonic illness, caused by the entry of the virus into the type II alveolar cells.

24 Jun 2020

Evidence of link between ACE2 genotype and COVID-19 disease severity

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that variants in the ACE2 gene which encodes the enzyme receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, are linked to the risk of severe disease.

24 Jun 2020

Pangolin version of SARS-CoV-2 can cause COVID-19-like illness

The results of a recent multinational research endeavor, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, display the biological framework of SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus in pangolins and reveal striking similarities to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in humans, but also show that it can be transmitted vertically to the fetus.

23 Jun 2020