A recent pre-peer reviewed article in medRxiv reports on the dynamics of neutralizing antibody responses to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. Investigators examined 44 COVID-19 patients and found that class-switching occurred early during infection and was by RBD-specific IgG1 and IgG3 responses. They also detected both RBD-specific IgM ...
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The current status of COVID-19 immunology
A recent tour de force of our current knowledge of immunity elicited by SARS-CoV-2 and progression to COVID-19 severe disease is given in a recent Immunity article. The authors review what we currently know about the involvement of innate immunity, T and B cell anti-viral responses, including the hyper-inflammation that often accompanies these responses in some infected people.
IUIS Webinar: Trained immunity and BCG vaccination: a tool against COVID-19?
Mihai Netea gave a brilliant seminar on “Trained immunity and BCG vaccination: a tool against COVID-19?” BCG a vaccine designed to combat Tuberculosis, has been shown to provide beneficial non-specific responses against unrelated pathogens, including respiratory viruses. During his talk, he highlighted studies, including a systematic review...
A nail in the coffin of (hydro)chloroquine treatment against COVID-19?
Chloroquine and it’s analogue hydrochloroquine were proposed as candidate therapeutics against COVID-19, and were one of the drug regiments tested in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Solidarity Trial. However, on the 26th May 2020 the WHO announced the suspension of chloroquine/hydrochloroquine trials for COVID-19.
SARS-CoV-2 found in semen.
A cohort study published in JAMA Network Open found that SARS-CoV-2 can be present in the semen of patients with COVID-19 and may still be detected in the semen of recovering patients. It is proposed that because the imperfect blood-testes/deferens/epididymis barrier, SARS-CoV-2 could seed to the male reproductive tract, especially in the presence of systemic local inflammation.
Can anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Ritonavir, be used to treat patients with severe COVID-19?
Results of a randomised, controlled, open-label trial involving hospitalised adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported in a recent article in NEJM. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either lopinavir–ritonavir twice a day for 14 days in addition to standard care, or standard care alone.
Can the Cytokine Release Syndrome in COVID-19 patients be treated using CCR5 blocking antibody therapy?
Recent pre-peer manuscript, a study examined 10 terminally-ill, critical COVID-19 patients treated with to identify which cytokines and potential therapies could be applied to prevent this cytokine release syndrome (CRS). The authors report that these patients all had elevated IL-6 and CCL5 (RANTES)...
IUIS Webinar: Adaptive Immunity in COVID-19
21th MayDid you watch the IUIS Webinar on Adaptive Immunity: Memory, Protection and Immunopathology in COVID-19 by Professor Andreas Radbruch (Director of the German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin). Prof Radbruch presented data that demonstrated SARS-CoV, responsible for the 2002/3 outbreak, induced robust levels neutralising antibodies ...
Can a Chimpanzee vector vaccine prevent SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia?
In a pre-peer reviewed bioRxiv manuscript, authors show that the adenovirus-vectored vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, encoding the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, is immunogenic in mice, showing a robust humoral and cell-mediated response. This was recapitulated with a single immunization of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in rhesus macaques...
Getting to the guts of SARS-CoV-2 infection
It has been well described how SARS-CoV-2 infects lung tissue and causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, but now there is evidence to emerge that the intestine may also be involved as a viral target. It is also known the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2 (angiotensin converting enzyme 2), is expressed on differentiated enterocytes. Lamers et al show, using human small intestinal organoids (hSIOs), that enterocytes could be infected...