The swift development of vaccines has provided a vital tool to combat the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, but challenges to reaching herd immunity.
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IMAGE: Images of cells showing close proximity (yellow) of GRP78 (green) with Spike protein of SARS-Cov-2 (red) (left panels) and ACE2 (red) (right panels). view more
Credit: Lead author Anthony Carlos, PhD
The swift development of vaccines has provided a vital tool to combat the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, but challenges to reaching herd immunity posed by the rise of new mutations and the inability of immunosuppressed people to develop an effective immune response following vaccination point to a need for additional solutions to maximize protection.
A new USC study published in the
Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals how therapies targeting a molecular chaperone called GRP78 might offer additional protection against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses that emerge in the future.