Page 13 - Ace2 News Today

South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 easily escapes Sputnik vaccine The current pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has undergone numerous mutations in its genome to emerge as different variants. As of now, a dozen vaccines have received emergency use authorization, and many countries around the world have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. A new preprint research paper posted to the m...

CAL20.C SARS-CoV-2 variant skyrocketing in California evades host immune response The effect of different neutralizing antibodies, both vaccine-elicited and from convalescent sera, suggests new variants are emerging that can evade the human immune response. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to host cells via its spike protein, which has two parts, the S1 and S2 subunits. The S1 subunit has the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the N-terminal domain (NTD). Th...

New nanoparticle SARS-CoV-2 vaccine confers robust protection with single dose after two weeks In a methodologically ‘state-of-the-art’ approach, US researchers have developed a protein-based nanoparticle vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with a swift generation of antibodies and the potential to protect individuals who cannot receive other COVID-19 vaccines for medical reasons. The research is posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server. Vaccines currently in use against the seve...

The use of mammalian cell surface display for rapid characterization of SARS-CoV-2 variants A research group from the U.S. demonstrated the practicality of a spike display system in order to accelerate vaccine design, but also to swiftly appraise the effects of mutations in emerging strains of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Their results are currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease...

Antibodies produced from infection with SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 protect against other variants As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to claim thousands of lives daily around the world, the pathogen responsible for it, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to undergo mutational changes. A recent paper in the journal Nature shows that while earlier lineages do not elicit antibodies capable of efficiently neutralizing the newly emerged Sout...

Study estimates impact of amino acid changes on SARS-CoV-2 infection New research led by Costas D. Maranas from The Pennsylvania State University predicts amino acid changes to the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein would negatively impact binding affinity and subsequent infection into human cells. Their results were derived from a novel two-step procedure called neural network molecular mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann surface a...

Researchers in India have gathered and presented a large body of evidence highlight quercetin – a flavonoid molecule found in many common fruits and vegetables – may be developed into drug therapies used to combat COVID-19.

Novel protein construct prevents lethal COVID-19 in mice Researchers in the United States have developed a novel protein that prevented lethal disease among mice infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The team engineered a soluble, short, and dimeric version of the native host cell receptor that is bound by a surface structure on SARS-CoV-2 called spike during the initial stage of the infection pr...

Researchers explore difference in reactions to SARS-CoV-2 infection between children and adults The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed over 2.67 million lives in less than a year and a half. However, it is uncommon in children, with less than 2% of the cases being in individuals below the age of 19. Most of these are of mild severity, with the clinical features of severe COVID-19 being rare in this age group. A new and timely study, which was released on the medRxiv* prep...

New research proposes innovative antibody-based treatment to prevent SARS-CoV-2 viral entry A brief report by researchers at the University of Virginia, USA, proposes using an antibody-based treatment with a plug-and-play strategy to inhibit the ability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to invade human cells. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors found on human cells, allowing it to gain entry and take over the ...