PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Antibodies recognize and attack different SARS-CoV-2 spike shapes

The spikes on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, change shapes; new research reveals ways that antibodies can recognize these different shapes and block the virus and informs the design of vaccines and antiviral therapies

Antibodies recognize and attack different SARS-CoV-2 spike shapes
2021-02-25
(Press-News.org) ROCKVILLE, MD - The virus that causes COVID-19 belongs to the family of coronaviruses, "corona" referring to the spikes on the viral surface. These spikes are not static--to infect cells, they change shapes. Maolin Lu, an associate research scientist at Yale University, directly visualized the changing shapes of those spike proteins and monitored how the shapes change when COVID-19 patient antibodies attach. Her work, which was published in Cell Host & Microbe in December 2020 and will be presented on Thursday, February 25 at the 65th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society informs the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments that target the spikes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Lu was quick to apply her expertise studying the HIV-1 virus to SARS-CoV-2. Prior to the pandemic, Lu studied which shapes of the HIV-1 spikes are most susceptible to antibody attack. Using similar techniques, in March 2020, she turned to SARS-CoV-2.

Because the spike proteins are prominent on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they are crucial targets for vaccines and therapeutics. The vaccines that have been approved so far have been designed to help the body generate antibodies that recognize this part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, blocking its entry into cells. However, Lu says, "the spike protein constantly changes shape, this shape-shifting feature not only allows the virus to enter host cells, it also helps the virus escape from being attacked or recognized by antibodies."

Using an imaging technique to monitor molecular movements, Lu observed that it adopts at least four shapes. She also watched how the spike proteins responded to serum from patients who recovered from COVID-19, which contained antibodies their body made against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. She noticed that some antibodies recognized and attached to the spike protein when it was in an "open" position and ready to stick to cells. Others preferred to attach to a "closed" spike, which is the spike's dominant position when the virus first enters the body.

"This indicates that antibodies can attack or antagonize the SARS-CoV-2 spike two different ways. One way is to directly occupy the spike's open position, then the virus cannot get close or associate with the host cells. The other way is to lock the spike into a closed position. The second locking down strategy has been widely used to develop COVID-19 vaccines," Lu explained.

When it comes to developing new vaccines or treatments, their research shows that targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein when it is in a closed position may be a particularly effective strategy.

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Antibodies recognize and attack different SARS-CoV-2 spike shapes

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How SARS-CoV-2's sugar-coated shield helps activate the virus

How SARS-CoV-2s sugar-coated shield helps activate the virus
2021-02-25
ROCKVILLE, MD - One thing that makes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elusive to the immune system is that it is covered in sugars called glycans. Once SARS-CoV-2 infects someone's body, it becomes covered in that person's unique glycans, making it difficult for the immune system to recognize the virus as something it needs to fight. Those glycans also play an important role in activating the virus. Terra Sztain-Pedone, a graduate student, and colleagues in the labs of Rommie Amaro at the University of California, San Diego and Lillian Chong at the University of Pittsburgh, studied exactly how the glycans activate SARS-CoV-2. Sztain-Pedone will present the research on Thursday, February 25 at the 65th Annual Meeting ...

A Canadian success story: world-first to treat Fabry disease with gene therapy

A Canadian success story: world-first to treat Fabry disease with gene therapy
2021-02-25
(Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, Toronto)--Results of a world-first Canadian pilot study on patients treated with gene therapy for Fabry disease show that the treatment is working and safe. The Canadian research team was the first to use gene therapy in 2017 to treat patients with Fabry disease, a rare, chronic illness that can damage major organs and shorten lives. They report their findings today in the journal Nature Communications. "Being one of the first people in the world to receive this treatment, and seeing how much better I felt afterward, it definitely gives me hope that this can help many other Fabry patients and potentially those with other single gene mutation disorders," says Ryan Deveau, one of the ...

Chimpanzees and humans share overlapping territories

Chimpanzees and humans share overlapping territories
2021-02-25
Chimpanzees and humans "overlap" in their use of forests and even villages, new research shows. Scientists used camera traps to track the movements of western chimpanzees - a critically endangered species - in Guinea-Bissau. Chimpanzees used areas away from villages and agriculture more intensively, but entered land used by humans to get fruit - especially when wild fruits were scarce. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Oxford Brookes University say the approach used in this study could help to inform a "coexistence strategy" for chimpanzees ...

Allergy season starts earlier each year due to climate change and pollen transport

Allergy season starts earlier each year due to climate change and pollen transport
2021-02-25
Allergy sufferers are no strangers to problems with pollen. But now - due to climate change - the pollen season is lasting longer and starting earlier than ever before, meaning more days of itchy eyes and runny noses. Warmer temperatures cause flowers to bloom earlier, while higher CO2 levels cause more pollen to be produced. The effects of climate change on the pollen season have been studied at-length, and END ...

Study shows opioid use among US patients with knee osteoarthritis costs 14 billion dollars in societal costs

2021-02-25
Although guidelines do not recommend use of opioids to manage pain for individuals with knee osteoarthritis, a recent study published early online in END ...

On the line: Watching nanoparticles get in shape

2021-02-25
Liquid structures - liquid droplets that maintain a specific shape - are useful for a variety of applications, from food processing to cosmetics, medicine, and even petroleum extraction, but researchers have yet to tap into these exciting new materials' full potential because not much is known about how they form. Now, a research team led by Berkeley Lab has captured real-time high-resolution videos of liquid structures taking shape as nanoparticle surfactants (NPSs) - soap-like particles just billionths of a meter in size - jam tightly together, ...

A-maze-ing pheasants have two ways of navigating

A-maze-ing pheasants have two ways of navigating
2021-02-25
Pheasants fall into two groups in terms of how they find their way around - and the different types prefer slightly different habitats, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists tested whether individual pheasants used landmarks (allocentric) or their own position (egocentric) to learn the way through a maze. The captive-bred pheasants were later released into the wild, and their choice of habitat was observed. All pheasants favoured woodland, but allocentric navigators spent more time out in the open, where their landmark-based style is more useful. "Humans tend to use both of these navigational tactics and quite frequently combine them, ...

CAR T-cell therapy generates lasting remissions in patients with multiple myeloma

CAR T-cell therapy generates lasting remissions in patients with multiple myeloma
2021-02-25
In a major advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a CAR T-cell therapy has generated deep, sustained remissions in patients who had relapsed from several previous therapies, an international clinical trial has found. In a study posted online today by the New England Journal of Medicine, trial leaders report that almost 75% of the participants responded to the therapy, known as idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel), and one-third of them had a complete response, or disappearance of all signs of their cancer. These rates, and the duration of the responses, are significantly ...

Fantastic voyage: Nanobodies could help CRISPR turn genes on and off

2021-02-25
The genetic tool CRISPR has been likened to molecular scissors for its ability to snip out and replace genetic code within DNA. But CRISPR has a capability that could make it useful beyond genetic repairs. "CRISPR can precisely locate specific genes," says Lacramioara Bintu, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford. "What we did was attach CRISPR to nanobodies to help it perform specific actions when it reached the right spot on DNA." Her lab recently used this combo technique to transform CRISPR from a gene-editing scissors into a nanoscale control agent that can toggle specific genes on and off, like a light switch, to start or stop the flow of some health-related protein inside a cell. "There are a lot of things you can't fix ...

Baby mice have a skill that humans want - and this microchip might help us learn it

2021-02-25
Baby mice might be small, but they're tough, too. For their first seven days of life, they have the special ability to regenerate damaged heart tissue. Humans, on the other hand, aren't so lucky: any heart injuries we suffer could lead to permanent damage. But what if we could learn to repair our hearts, just like baby mice? A team of researchers led by UNSW Sydney have developed a microchip that can help scientists study the regenerative potential of mice heart cells. This microchip - which combines microengineering with biomedicine - could help pave the way for new regenerative heart medicine research. The study is featured on the cover ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Climate crisis could force wild vanilla plants and pollinating insects apart, threatening global supply

Teens report spending 21% of each driving trip looking at their phone

Study explores the ‘social norms’ of distracted driving among teens

Diver-operated microscope brings hidden coral biology into focus

Enhancing the “feel-good” factor of urban vegetation using AI and street view images

A single genetic mutation may have made humans more vulnerable to cancer than chimpanzees

Innovative nanocomposite hydrogel shows promise for cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis treatment

2025 Guangci Laboratory Medicine Innovation and Development Conference

LabMed Discovery is included in the ICI World Journals database

LabMed Discovery is included in the China Open Access Journal (COAJ) database

Vaccination support program reduces pneumonia-related mortality by 25 percent among the elderly

Over decades, a healthy lifestyle outperforms metformin in preventing onset of Type 2 diabetes

Mental health disorders, malaria, and heart disease most affected by covid pandemic

Green transition will boost UK productivity

Billions voted in 2024, but major new report exposes cracks in global democracy

Researchers find “forever chemicals” impact the developing male brain

Quantum leap in precision sensing across technologies

Upgrading biocrude oil into sustainable aviation fuel using zeolite-supported iron-molybdenum carbide nanocatalysts

For effective science communication, ‘just the facts’ isn’t good enough

RT-EZ: A golden gate assembly toolkit for streamlined genetic engineering of rhodotorula toruloides

Stem Cell Reports announces five new early career editors

Support networks may be the missing link for college students who seek help for excessive drinking

The New England Journal of Medicine shines spotlight on forensic pathology

Scientists discover protein that helps lung cancer spread to the brain

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

Brain tumor growth patterns may help inform patient care management

This might be America's first campus tree inventory

Emoji use may impact relationship outcomes

Individual merit, not solidarity, prioritized by early childhood education policies

Preclinical study unlocks a mystery of rapid mouth healing

[Press-News.org] Antibodies recognize and attack different SARS-CoV-2 spike shapes
The spikes on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, change shapes; new research reveals ways that antibodies can recognize these different shapes and block the virus and informs the design of vaccines and antiviral therapies