Why does convalescent plasma therapy for severe COVID-19 show mixed success?
Treatment modalities against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are limited in efficacy. This has led many centers to use convalescent plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients in the management of this condition.
A surprising new preprint, released on the
medRxiv server, suggests that the beneficial effects of convalescent plasma (CP) in this disease stem not only from the presence of neutralizing antibodies, but also the immunomodulatory effects of this plasma that shapes the host immune response.
Discrepancy in results from convalescent plasma trials
Randomized controlled trials have failed to yield evidence of significant benefit from CP when administered late in the course of illness. However, within three days of symptom onset, CP with high titers of antibodies led to a 73% reduction in the risk of progressive COVID-19.
Plant Cell Receptors join Forces to beat Bacterial Invasion
Mar 13 2021 Read 2685 Times
In a study to understand better how plants defend themselves against bacterial pathogens, researchers at The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) have been able to unravel the roles played by two different cell receptors that normally work together to initiate an immune response.
Receptors at the cell surface detect pathogen-derived molecules that accumulate outside plant cells; this activates pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). PTI, however, is suppressed by pathogen-derived effector proteins, that are injected into host cells to enable pathogen growth. In response, the invading effectors can be detected by intracellular receptors in the plant which results in effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Until now, it has not been clear how the defence mechanisms activated by these two distinct perception mechanisms interact.
NTU scientists design new compound that could help reduce overactive immune response
When the body detects a pathogen, such as bacteria or viruses, it mounts an immune system response to fight this invader. In some people, the immune system overreacts, resulting in an overactive immune response that causes the body to injure itself, which may prove fatal in some cases.
Now, scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have created a compound that could help to reduce this overactivation without impairing the body s entire immune response.
An overactive immune system leads to many autoimmune disorders - when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues - such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. More recently, it has also been linked to severe COVID-19 infections, in which immune-system signalling proteins ramp up to dangerous levels, leading to damage to the body s own cells.
For the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers employed data from 130 stations in 31 countries on five continents
Posted : 2021-03-11 21:23
Updated : 2021-03-12 00:08
Health officials prepare to cull chickens at a farm in Naju, South Jeolla Province, Thursday, where a H5N8 strain of avian influenza pathogen was found. Yonhap
South Korea s agricultural authorities on Thursday confirmed two more cases of highly pathogenic bird flu amid growing concerns over a prolonged battle against the animal disease.
The latest cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza were identified in Chungju, 147 kilometers south of Seoul, and in Naju, 355 kilometers south of the capital city, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
They were the first confirmed avian influenza cases since Feb. 26. South Korea has confirmed 105 cases of bird flu traced to poultry farms since November last year.