When SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in 2020, with respiratory symptoms as the most obvious feature of infection, the most obvious comparison was to influenza. COVID-19, of course, was never just another flu.
Researchers have shown that glucocorticoids, a type of steroid hormones, target both neuroplasticity-related genes and genes related to ciliary function in the brain. However, the effects on the different processes are mediated via different receptors, and in response to different stimuli. A study investigated the specific targets of glucocorticoids, giving new insights into the biological mechanisms of stress adaptations, and how they are linked to neural plasticity.
Researchers have shown that glucocorticoids, a type of steroid hormones, target both neuroplasticity-related genes and genes related to ciliary function in the brain. However, the effects on the different processes are mediated via different receptors, and in response to different stimuli. A study investigated the specific targets of glucocorticoids, giving new insights into the biological mechanisms of stress adaptations, and how they are linked to neural plasticity.
It's a good news, bad news scenario for exhausted T cells in chronic infections. Multiple groups of investigators reported in the July 26, 2021, online issue of NatureImmunology that even after a chronic hepatitis C virus infection was cured, T cells that had become dysfunctional during the infection retained epigenetic "scars" that prevented them from becoming fully functional memory T cells.
Investigators at the University of California at San Francisco have identified a confounder that appears to be behind the purported anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects of a number of therapeutic candidates that were identified via repurposing.
Investigators at the University of California at San Francisco have identified a confounder that appears to be behind the purported anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects of a number of therapeutic candidates that were identified via repurposing.
It's a good news, bad news scenario for exhausted T cells in chronic infections. Multiple groups of investigators reported in the July 26, 2021, online issue of NatureImmunology that even after a chronic hepatitis C virus infection was cured, T cells that had become dysfunctional during the infection retained epigenetic "scars" that prevented them from becoming fully functional memory T cells.
Researchers at Google AI company Deepmind and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory/European Bioinformatics Institute have developed and published an open-access database with predicted structures of 98.5% of proteins in the human proteome.
The complete relegation of conferences to cyberspace that began with one HIV conference, CROI 2020, ended with another, the 2021 IAS meeting. Though the conference was still largely virtual, there was also an in-person component held in Berlin.
In infectious disease research, most of the research into genetic determinants of susceptibility to infection and disease severity are focused on the host. For COVID-19, for example, the delta variant’s infectivity, and how likely infection is to lead to severe disease, is the focus of an intense research agenda. But host genetics, too, contribute to the consequences of infections. An ongoing study into the host genetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection has identified 13 such factors that affected either the likelihood of contracting SARS-CoV-2, or the severity of disease, gleaned from the data of 50,000 infected persons and 2 million controls.