Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Presence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after 13 months of infection

A new study has been published on the medRxiv* preprint server which focuses on validating the serological assays using a large cohort of healthcare workers.

19 May 2021

Glucosidase inhibitors hold promise as novel therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2

In a new study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from the United States report that two iminosugar glucosidase inhibitors have the ability to suppress the replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in tissue culture – at concentrations of at least 100 times lower than required for cytotoxic effects.

19 May 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 evolved from a bat-to a human-adapted virus

New research published on the preprint server bioRxiv* performed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic simulations to understand the evolutionary transition from a bat-adapted SARS-CoV-2 to a human-adapted virus.

19 May 2021

Study identifies mechanism behind SARS-CoV-2 fusion of host cells

The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is mediated by the fusion of the spike protein to nearby healthy cells. New research by German researchers sheds light on how this happens.

19 May 2021

Latest round of REACT-1 finds SARS-CoV-2 prevalence has halved since previous round

Researchers in the UK say the latest round of the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study has found that the prevalence of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – has fallen by 50%, compared with the previous round conducted in March of this year (2021).

19 May 2021

Methotrexate impairs immunogenicity of BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

Researchers from Germany and the USA recently investigated the cellular and humoral immune responses of patients with IMIDs on immunomodulatory treatment to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The research is published on the medRxiv* preprint server.

19 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine PTX-COVID19-B safe and highly immunogenic in preclinical study

COVID-19, the coronavirus disease of 2019, is one of the worst pandemics in human history. It emerged in December 2019 and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Nearly 164 million SARS-CoV-2 infections and 3.4 million deaths have been reported globally since the beginning of the pandemic, which is still raging in many countries.

18 May 2021

Potent antibody with unique genetic signature and spike recognition mechanism neutralizes SARS-CoV-2

In a new study, researchers used an antibody discovery technology to identify a new potently neutralizing antibody with a unique mode of SARS-CoV-2 recognition. They reported their results on the bioRxiv preprint server.

18 May 2021

Robust T cell and humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with immunodeficiency

A study of immune-deficient adults and children has shown that patients who fail to respond positively to infections and vaccinations have robust humoral immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) structural proteins.

18 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.420 and B.1.617.1 immune escape variants reported in France

Researchers discovered the first N440K variant and the new E484Q and L452R Indian variants isolated in France in a recent study. They presented the genetic mutations in the isolated genomes and the phylogenetic tree, including these strains among different SARS-CoV-2 clades. This work is posted on the bioRxiv preprint server.

18 May 2021

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