By Herb Schribner
It was only a matter of time (click here) — scientists have reportedly found a subvariant of the omicron variant, raising questions about what’s going to happen next with the novel coronavirus.
The news: Scientists across the world have found a sublineage of the highly-transmissible omicron coronavirus variant, called BA.2.
The BA.2 variant is now under investigation because it could have a growth advantage, replacing the original omicron variant, per Reuters.
Why this matters: The subvariant BA.2, which has been nicknamed the “stealth omicron,” could be spreading faster than the original omicron and lead to even more COVID-19 cases, according to Fortune.
Details: Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist and a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said he is “concerned” about the new subtype because it is surging....
By Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD
The NIH continues (click here) to support the development of some very innovative therapies to control SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. One innovative idea involves a molecular decoy to thwart the coronavirus.
How’s that? The decoy is a specially engineered protein particle that mimics the 3D structure of the ACE2 receptor, a protein on the surface of our cells that the virus’s spike proteins bind to as the first step in causing an infection.
The idea is when these ACE2 decoys are administered therapeutically, they will stick to the spike proteins that crown the coronavirus (see image above). With its spikes covered tightly in decoy, SARS-CoV-2 has a more-limited ability to attach to the real ACE2 and infect our cells.
Recently, the researchers published their initial results in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, and the early data look promising [1]. They found in mouse models of severe COVID-19 that intravenous infusion of an engineered ACE2 decoy prevented lung damage and death. Though more study is needed, the researchers say the decoy therapy could potentially be delivered directly to the lungs through an inhaler and used alone or in combination with other COVID-19 treatments.
The findings come from a research team at the University of Illinois Chicago team, led by Asrar Malik and Jalees Rehman, working in close collaboration with their colleagues at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The researchers had been intrigued by an earlier clinical trial testing the ACE2 decoy strategy [2]. However, in this earlier attempt, the clinical trial found no reduction in mortality. The ACE2 drug candidate, which is soluble and degrades in the body, also proved ineffective in neutralizing the virus.
Rather than give up on the idea, the UIC team decided to give it a try. They engineered a new soluble version of ACE2 that structurally might work better as a decoy than the original one. Their version of ACE2, which includes three changes in the protein’s amino acid building blocks, binds the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein much more tightly. In the lab, it also appeared to neutralize the virus as well as monoclonal antibodies used to treat COVID-19....
All this medical talk. But, basically the way responsible medical scientists and researchers see their responsibility is that, "It ain't over until it is over." One just has to look at the initial Boston study of HIV/AIDS treatments and to realize where the science has brought us. It is nothing short of a genius. Their work ethic and the ethical standards of the professions are magnificient.
A Possible Role for Anti-idiotype Antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination
By William J. Murphy, Ph.D.and Dan L. Longo, M.D.
The Clinical Implications of Basic Research (click here) series has focused on highlighting laboratory research that could lead to advances in clinical therapeutics. However, the path between the laboratory and the bedside runs both ways: clinical observations often pose new questions for laboratory investigations that then lead back to the clinic. One of a series of occasional articles drawing attention to the bedside-to-bench flow of information is presented here, under the Basic Implications of Clinical Observations rubric. We hope our readers will enjoy these stories of discovery, and we invite them to submit their own examples of clinical findings that have led to insights in basic science.
The pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is incompletely understood, with its effects on multiple organ systems1 and the syndrome of “long Covid” occurring long after the resolution of infection.2 The development of multiple efficacious vaccines has been critical in the control of the pandemic, but their efficacy has been limited by the appearance of viral variants, and the vaccines can be associated with rare off-target or toxic effects, including allergic reactions, myocarditis, and immune-mediated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia in some healthy adults. Many of these phenomena are likely to be immune-mediated.3 How can we understand this diversity in immune responses in different persons?...
The Clinical Implications of Basic Research (click here) series has focused on highlighting laboratory research that could lead to advances in clinical therapeutics. However, the path between the laboratory and the bedside runs both ways: clinical observations often pose new questions for laboratory investigations that then lead back to the clinic. One of a series of occasional articles drawing attention to the bedside-to-bench flow of information is presented here, under the Basic Implications of Clinical Observations rubric. We hope our readers will enjoy these stories of discovery, and we invite them to submit their own examples of clinical findings that have led to insights in basic science.
The pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is incompletely understood, with its effects on multiple organ systems1 and the syndrome of “long Covid” occurring long after the resolution of infection.2 The development of multiple efficacious vaccines has been critical in the control of the pandemic, but their efficacy has been limited by the appearance of viral variants, and the vaccines can be associated with rare off-target or toxic effects, including allergic reactions, myocarditis, and immune-mediated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia in some healthy adults. Many of these phenomena are likely to be immune-mediated.3 How can we understand this diversity in immune responses in different persons?...
