August 2021

Through the use of single-cell transcriptome, proteome, and immune cell analysis of the tumour microenvironment (TME), Hicks, et al., were able to show that that combination therapy elicits significant and sustained anti-tumour efficacy and complete responses by shifting the TME to a functionally inflamed landscape.

In a recent preprint, Riou and colleagues aimed to provide an overall measure of immune evasion by assessing neutralizing antibody and T cell responses in 44 South African COVID-19 patients infected either with B.1.351 or infected before its emergence (‘first wave’).

In an interesting study, researchers showed that neutrophils contribute significantly to IgG-mediated phagocytosis of blood-stage P. falciparum merozoites and protection against febrile malaria. These findings further elucidate neutrophil antibody-mediated immune mechanisms...

Researchers from the University of Maryland and the US National Institutes of Health have discovered a novel pathway of host cell manipulation and innate immune evasion by Mtb. They have shown that the Mtb limits activation of a host cell defense complex, the inflammasome.

Researcher aimed to develop a candidate SARS-Cov-2 vaccine that uses the YF17D vaccine as a vector to express a non-cleavable pre-fusion form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen (YF-S0).

We highlight recent research that investigated whether neutrophil conversion to neutrophil antigen presenting cells (nAPCs) requires the engagement of their Fcγ receptor, as well as exploration of the therapeutic potential of nAPCs. Using a murine model, authors demonstrated that uptake of antibody-antigen...

6 August 2021 Prof Lynn Morris presented results from the antibody-mediated prevention trial that tested the ability of VRC01 broadly neutralising Ab(specific for the HIV envelope protein CD4 binding site and has a wide coverage of HIV subtype B and C strains. Participants in the AMP trials received 10 doses of VRC01...

5 August 2021 Prof. Lynn Morris began her talk comparing the HIV and SARS-Cov-2 epidemics, at the peak of the HIV epidemic approximately annual mortality was 1.8 million deaths reported due to HIV/AIDS. Fortunately, HIV-associated mortality has drastically decreased due to the successful roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment.

2 August 2021 Wang and colleagues aimed to isolate potent neutralising antibodies that have activity against VOCs as well as other SARS-Cov-2 variants, as well as determine whether these potent nAbs have therapeutic potential and can reduce resistance development. Researchers isolated SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies...