Using primary human cortical tissue and cortical organoids derived from stem cells to test if severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can directly infect brain cells, researchers found significant infection of the astrocytes and not much in other cell types. Some typical symptoms of...
Coronavirus Disease COVID-19
Kruppel-like factor 2 may be a major determinant of acute respiratory distress syndrome in COVID-19 patients
A study conducted at the University of Chicago, USA, has recently revealed that downregulation of an endothelial transcription factor, Kruppel-like factor 2, by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) frequently observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)...
Severe COVID-19 linked to genetic make-up of both host and virus, say researchers
A recent study conducted by a team of international scientists has revealed that the infectivity and pathogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strongly depend on the genetic background of both the virus and the host. The study is currently available on the...
New N501 SARS-CoV-2 mutation may have been circulating in Italy since August 2020
A recent study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal shows that mutated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains with a substitution at position 501 might have circulated unnoticed even before the end of September 2020, when the rapid emergence of B.1.1.7 lineage...