SARS-CoV-2-induced innate immune responses may vary with disease severity, finds study
A team of scientists from Germany and China recently conducted a large meta-analysis using transcriptome data of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to evaluate the routes of viral entry and the characteristics of innate immune responses induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study reveals that SARS-CoV-2 may enter human cells via multiple routes and that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) is not the only receptor to support viral entry. Moreover, the study finds that the innate immune responses induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly vary with cell type and viral load. The study is currently available on the
A new preprint research paper published on the bioRxiv server describes the role of a host protein called tetherin in the spread of the novel coronavirus.
An interesting new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server describes a new platform that allows a high-throughput workflow to generate matched human lung buds in the tens of thousands. This allows researchers to study SARS-CoV-2 infection and therapeutics in lung tissue that mirrors the key aspects of human lung development.
In a recent and timely paper, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers from Israel and France demonstrated how in vitro evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD) follows contagious mutation spread – but can also generate an efficient infection inhibitor.
A recent study has found that extracellular vimentin can bind to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in vitro, and antibodies against vimentin can decrease virus infectivity by up to 80%. This suggests vimentin could aid the virus’s binding to host cells and help in infection.