A multi-institutional group led by the University of California at San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) has identified more than 200 host proteins that interacted with SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins during infection, creating “a blueprint of how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks human cells,” QBI Director Nevan Krogan told reporters. They then used that blueprint to identify 10 drugs, some FDA approved and some in clinical trials, that were able to inhibit viral growth in cell culture assays, marking them for further study as potential antivirals. The work also identified one compound, dextromethorphan, that appeared to facilitate viral growth.

LONDON – Leading genome sequencing groups are launching the first meta-analysis in the hunt for genetic factors that explain why some people have worse COVID-19 symptoms than others, after agreeing to share patient sequence data from around the world.

BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: Edited stem cells reverse mouse diabetes; Noncoding TET2 variants affect neurodegeneration risk; Pancreatic cancer uses autophagy to hide from immune system; Heart failure hormone has role in sepsis; NRF2 wakes sleeping tumor cells; Oral drug can wake up telomerase; Cheating cell death improves infarct outcomes; Older siblings’ example turns stem cells into heart cells; Lung changes from PD drug hopeful are reversible; Platelets play role in Tylenol toxicity.

By analyzing the antibody response of a survivor of Marburg virus infection, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have gained new insights into the function of non-neutralizing antibodies in fighting infections.