Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

ErbB inhibitor lapatinib exhibits potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A team of scientists from the USA and Belgium has recently revealed that the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases play a vital role in regulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lifecycle in host cells and that inhibition of these receptors can protect against SARS-CoV-2-induced acute and chronic lung injuries and inflammation.

18 May 2021

A possible human-to-canine transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Now, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified a case of human to animal transmission when SARS-CoV-2 was detected in a healthy poodle dog living with four family members who had COVID-19.

18 May 2021

COVID-19 public health interventions reduced other respiratory infections

Wearing masks and quarantining while sick has helped mitigate the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An indirect benefit of these efforts appears to be a decrease in flu cases and other respiratory infections. New research led by Lisa G. Winston of the University of California, San Francisco, confirmed COVID-19 public health interventions helped decrease the number of airborne viruses.

18 May 2021

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine elicits six-month antibody responses to variants

Researchers in the United States have demonstrated the long-term durability of the antibody responses elicited by Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

18 May 2021

Stabilizing mutations in SARS-CoV-2 immunogens improve vaccine design

Researchers in the United States have developed stabilized immunogens presenting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may improve the scalability of RBD-based coronavirus vaccines.

18 May 2021

Milder COVID-19 in children may be due to higher memory B cells responses to SARS-CoV-2

A new research paper published in the journal Science explores the differences in coronavirus-specific B memory cell repertoires in children versus adults, as well as the functional importance of this discovery.

18 May 2021

Breastfeeding safe and beneficial in SARS-CoV-2 infection

\With the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hundreds of millions of people became infected worldwide, including thousands of pregnant women near term. The question of vertical transmission to the infant via the placenta or breast milk was very real, leading to a near-total ban on breastfeeding in this group.

17 May 2021

Most COVID-19 patients have neurological symptoms

In a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network, University of Pittsburgh researchers for the Global Consortium Study of Neurologic Dysfunction in COVID-19 found that neurological manifestations were prevalent among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The patients were also at a higher risk of in-hospital mortality.

17 May 2021

Nanotechnology and COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

The development of nano-biosensors and nanoparticle-based vaccines and medicines has opened a new path toward better management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In a recently published article in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, scientists have reviewed recent advancements in nanotechnology-based diagnostic and therapeutic interventions against human coronaviruses.

17 May 2021

A SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody with extensive spike binding coverage

In a recently published research paper in the journal Nature Communications, a team of scientists from China has described the antiviral efficacy of a novel anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody isolated from recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

17 May 2021

Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 inhibits complement hyperactivation

Although several monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have been developed and clinically tested, little is known about antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein. In a paper published recently in the journal Nature Communications, researchers report a human monoclonal antibody that targets the nucleocapsid protein.

17 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Nsp2 structure revealed by cryo-EM and AI

Researchers in the United States analyzed the non-structural protein 2 (Nsp2) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in order to better understand its function and to guide future drug discovery. The research paper is currently available on bioRxiv* preprint server.

16 May 2021

Phase 2 trial shows INO-4800 SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine safe and tolerable in adults

Preliminary clinical trial results from an ongoing Phase 2/3 trial led by Laurent M. Humeau of Inovio Pharmaceuticals suggest the two-dose INO-4800 vaccine is safe for use in adults of varying ages. The results expand on phase 1 trial results that found the vaccine was safe and tolerable in 38 participants.

16 May 2021

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines induce robust T cell response against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing the efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at eliciting a robust T cell response against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

16 May 2021

Enhanced version of CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine could help address supply shortages

Researchers in Germany have demonstrated the preclinical effectiveness of a next-generation coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine at enhancing antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

16 May 2021

Supercarriers: Just 2% of SARS-CoV-2 positive people carry 90% of the virus

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the vast majority of the viral load in a community at any given point is present in a very small minority of the infected population, underlining the vast differences in viral loads between individuals.

14 May 2021

A look at how coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affects Parkinson's

Earlier, herpes simplex virus (HSV), influenza virus A, measles virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and mumps virus have all been associated with after-effects of the virus that includes Parkinson's disease (PD). This list may now include SARS-CoV-2.

14 May 2021

A SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccine elicits broad immunity

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint research paper, M. Gordon Joyce et al. designed engineered nanoparticle immunogens that recapitulate the structural and antigenic properties of prefusion Spike (S), S1 and receptor-binding domain (RBD). They demonstrated that these immunogens induced robust S-binding, ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme)-inhibition, and authentic and pseudovirus neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in mice.

13 May 2021

A magnetofluidic platform for SARS-CoV-2 variant and respiratory pathogen detection

Recent research published on the medRxiv* server has developed a portable, magnetofluidic cartridge platform, for automated PCR testing in <30 min, for rapid multiplexed screening of pathogens. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine developed these cartridges for multiplexed detection of SARS-CoV-2 with distinctive variant mutations or with Influenza A and B.

13 May 2021

Three-way strategy employed by SARS-CoV-2 during infection

The study, published in the journal Nature, reveals a multi-pronged strategy that the virus employs to ensure its quick and efficient replication while evading the immune system. The study elucidated how the virus can quickly, in a matter of hours, take over the cell's protein-making machinery and parallelly neutralize the cell's antiviral signaling, thus delaying and muddling the immune response.

13 May 2021