Tag: Spike protein

A Head Start on the Next Pandemic

sarah JonasResearch Results

Investigating viruses with spillover potential could give us a head start on the next pandemic and minimize its severity; one such virus is RshTT200, discovered in Cambodian bats in 2010. During ACA’s 73rd annual meeting, July 7-11, Samantha Zepeda from the University of Washington will present her team’s investigation into RshTT200. The team used cryo-electron microscopy to solve the spike protein structure. Once the spike proteins were understood, they built harmless, nonreplicating pseudoviruses expressing the spike proteins to investigate how RshTT200 accesses human cells.

Weaponizing Part of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Against Itself to Prevent Infection

sarah JonasResearch Results

ROCKVILLE, MD – The virus that causes COVID-19, called SARS-CoV-2, uses its spike protein in order to stick to and infect our cells. The final step for the virus to enter our cells is for part of its spike protein to act like a twist tie, forcing the host cell’s outer membrane to fuse with the virus. Kailu Yang, in the lab of Axel Brunger, colleagues at Stanford University, and collaborators at University of California Berkely, Harvard Medical School, and University of Finland have generated a molecule based on the twisted part of the spike protein (called HR2), which sticks itself onto the virus and prevents the spike protein from twisting.

Miller School of Medicine Researchers Find Clues for Potential ‘Long COVID’ Therapies

sarah JonasFeature

A team of researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have uncovered a potential approach for treating patients with serious long-term COVID conditions. In two recent studies using experimental models, they found that placing a peptide “net” around the spike protein on the virus reduced deaths from organ failure and improved overall outcomes.

Scientists develop effective intranasal mumps-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate

sarah JonasResearch Results

New research has advanced COVID-19 vaccine work in several ways: using a modified live attenuated mumps virus for delivery, showing that a more stable coronavirus spike protein stimulates a stronger immune response, and suggesting a dose up the nose has an advantage over a shot.

Story Tips from Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19

sarah JonasResearch Tip Sheet

NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:

PREGNANT AFTER THE FIRST DOSE OF COVID-19 VACCINE — NOW WHAT?
STUDY SHOWS VACCINES MAY PROTECT AGAINST NEW COVID-19 STRAINS … AND MAYBE THE COMMON COLD
EXPANDED DASHBOARD TOOL RANKS ACCESSIBILITY OF STATE VACCINE WEBSITES

Hormone Drugs May Disarm COVID-19 Spike Protein and Stop Disease Progression

sarah JonasResearch Results

Hormone drugs that reduce androgen levels may help disarm the coronavirus spike protein used to infect cells and stop the progression of severe COVID-19 disease, suggests a new preclinical study from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in Cell Press’s iScience.

Glycans in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein play active role in infection

sarah JonasResearch Results

As researchers try to develop therapies/vaccines to combat SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus spike protein is a major focus since it can bind to cells. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have uncovered an active role for glycans in this process, suggesting targets for vaccines and therapies.

Study Reveals New Targets for Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccines and Tests, Beyond Antibodies

sarah JonasResearch Results

This clinical trial increased an understanding of how T cells mount a response to COVID-19 infection. These findings pave the way for diagnostic tests that detect COVID immunity based on T cells instead of antibodies. Research demonstrates that generating neutralizing antibodies rather than T cells, may not be sufficient for long-term immunity. New discoveries suggest that vaccines will need to incorporate T cell targets to generate lasting COVID-19 immunity.