Dual-action monoclonal antibodies from an original SARS survivor show promise against COVID-19
A recent study, currently available on the
bioRxiv preprint server, indicates that a pair of dual-action monoclonal antibodies derived from an original 2003 SARS survivor could play an important role in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to their broadly neutralizing activity and the engagement of the immune system via effector function capabilities.
Related Stories
While different vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have already been authorized and used pervasively, the goal of swiftly reaching herd immunity may be hampered by supply issues, vaccine hesitancy, and the spread of viral variants. Likewise, those with underlying immunodeficiency may be at risk despite vaccination.
Which biomarkers can help predict severe COVID-19?
The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to over 119 million confirmed cases and over 2.6 million deaths so far. Even as vaccines are being rolled out in many countries, supply challenges and cold-chain obstacles are likely to slow down the pace of universal immunization, favoring the emergence of novel vaccine-resistant strains.
The ability to detect potentially fatal illness early on in the course of the disease would enable a swift prioritization of these high-risk individuals for treatment. A new preprint on the
medRxiv server presents an array of biomarkers that may help achieve this laudable goal.
Optimized nano-micelles can induce efficient genome editing in the mouse brain
Mar 12 2021
The research group of Deputy Principal Research Scientist Dr. Satoshi Uchida (Associate Professor, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine) at the Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (Director General: Prof. Kazunori Kataoka, Location: Kawasaki-Japan, Abbreviation: iCONM) reported that optimized nano-micelles can induce efficient genome editing in the mouse brain.
The 2020 Chemistry Nobel Prize-winning technology CRISPR/Cas9 holds great promise for treating various diseases such as congenital disorders and viral infections, by correcting the disease-specific genomic sequences.
This technology attracted increasing attention in the last decade as it allows easy targeting of genomic sequences with high precision and low level of undesired off-target gene editing. However, safe and efficient delivery of the Cas9 DNA cutting enzyme and guide RNA (gRNA), which is a short piece of RNA that guides C