Daily curated COVID-19 literature
WP11 - The objective of this work package is to respond to requests concerning the current scientific knowledge on SARS-CoV-2. Based on the latest scientific literature the team will compile findings and give advice when needed
6 publications
Journal
2020-05-28
Type I and Type III Interferons - Induction, Signaling, Evasion, and Application to Combat COVID-19
Expert Summary: In this review, the authors describe the progress in the understanding of type I and type III IFN-mediated innate antiviral responses against coronaviruses. They also discuss the potential use of IFNs as a treatment for COVID-19.
2020-05-27
A mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis
Expert Summary: The authors generated a mouse model expressing hACE2 using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. When performed intranasal infection with SARS-CoV-2, these mice sustain higher viral loads in lung, trachea and brain; they also develop interstitial pneumonia and elevated cytokines were observed. The authors present this animal model as a useful tool to study SARS-CoV-2 and evaluate COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.
2020-05-15
Identification of Human Single-Domain Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
Expert Summary: The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, containing the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and S1 subunit involved in receptor engagement, is a potential therapeutic target. In this short article, the authors describe the development of a phage-displayed single-domain antibody library by grafting naive complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) into framework regions of a human germline immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) allele.
2020-04-29
Heightened innate immune responses in the respiratory tract of COVID-19 patients
Expert Summary: Using metatranscriptomic sequencing to profile immune signatures in the BALF of 8 COVID-19 patients, the authors have observed that compared to healthy controls and community-acquired pneumonia patients COVID-19 cases have a higher expression of proinflammatory genes, particularly chemokines. They also studied immune cell populations and saw an increase in activated dendritic cells and neutrophils in COVID-19 patients.
2020-04-14
An Infectious cDNA Clone of SARS-CoV-2
Expert Summary: Xie, X et al. report the establishment of a reverse genetic system and the development of a reporter virus for SARS-COV2. This reporter virus could facilitate anti-viral testing and offers a huge advantage for the development of therapeutics for COVID-19.
2020-04-09
Infection and Rapid Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Ferrets
Expert Summary: The authors show a ferret model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission that recapitulates aspects of human disease. SARS-CoV-2-is effectively transmitted to ferrets, as consequence infected ferrets exhibit elevated bodytemperatures and virus replication.
