Autoantibodies are typically not good news. But a group of researchers from Bellinzona, Switzerland, have observed that the presence of autoantibodies against chemokines, a special class of cytokines, is associated with mild disease and less risk of developing long COVID. “Our hypothesis was that antibodies to chemokines, if they existed, would also be associated with a negative outcome of the disease. But, what we found, in fact, was the exact opposite of what we were predicting,” Davide Robbiani, director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, told BioWorld.
Bugworks Research India Pvt. Ltd. has identified oxazolidinone compounds acting as DNA gyrase and DNA topoisomerase IV (Escherichia coli) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of bacterial infections, in particular gram-positive and gram-negative, as well as viral, fungal and protozoal infections.
Bacteria inflaming the meninges have developed an immunosuppressive mechanism that contributes to their ability to attack the brain. Researchers found that, by activating pain receptors (nociceptors) to release chemical substances that block an immune cell receptor, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus agalactiae deactivated the protective function of macrophages and weakened brain defenses. This, in turn, enabled them to invade the brain.
Immorna Biotechnology Co. Ltd. raised nearly $100 million in series A+ and A++ financing rounds to speed up the clinical development and commercialization of its RNA-based therapeutics. Founded in 2019, Immorna develops therapeutics and vaccines based on its RNA platforms, including conventional, self-replicating and circular RNA.
Cocrystal Pharma Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. and MSD R&D (China) Co. Ltd. have jointly patented new cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN) (influenza virus) inhibitors that are reported to be useful for the treatment of influenza.
Even its name is a testament to how enigmatic the tingible macrophage has been. Tingible, which means stainable, certainly gives no clues to its functions – but was, at least, one thing that was known about the cells. Now, scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have tracked the lifecycle and function of tangible macrophages in the lymph nodes, with implications for understanding autoimmune disorders, which are still poorly understood. Published March 2, 2023, in the journal Cell, the study highlights intravital imaging techniques the scientists used to observe how macrophages formed within the lymph nodes and how they behaved in real time.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. has “more work to do” in understanding mixed results with the DNA-based immunotherapy VGX-3100 as a treatment for cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions associated with human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 or HPV-18, said Michael Sumner, chief medical officer for the company. “We only got the data in our hands about a week ago.”
Shanghai Aryl Pharmtech Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. have jointly patented aromatic acetylene derivatives acting as UDP-3-O-(R-3-hydroxymyristoyl)-N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase (LpxC) (bacterial) inhibitors and reported to be useful for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections.
An ongoing outbreak of mpox, a viral disease of zoonotic origin, was confirmed in May 2022 and has affected many countries worldwide. The spread of the virus is due to human-to-human transmission, but it remains unclear whether the responsible mpox strain is adapting to a new host.
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