143 Results Found

The emergence and the high transmissibility of the XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron has reignited concerns over the potential impact on vaccine efficacy for these and future variants. We investigated the roles of the XBB.1.5...

The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages, including the BA.2-derived XBB.1.5 (Kraken), XBB.1.16 (Arcturus), and EG.5.1 (Eris), have accumulated several spike mutations that may increase immune escape, affecting vaccine effectiveness. Older...

Background/Objectives: The efficacy of monovalent BNT162b2 Omicron XBB.1.5 booster vaccination in liver transplant recipients (LTRs) has yet to be described, particularly regarding the immune response to emerging variants like JN.1. Methods: This stu...

We report neutralization titer data against contemporary SARS-CoV-2 sublineages from an ongoing, phase 2/3, open-label, clinical trial of a single dose (30 μg) of an Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 monovalent mRNA vaccine. The trial included heal...

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the generation of new variants periodically recurs. The XBB.1.5 SARS-CoV-2 variant is one of the most recent. This research was aimed at verifying the potential hazard of this new subvariant. To achieve this objec...

The XBB.1.16 SARS-CoV-2 variant, also known as Arcturus, is a recent descendant lineage of the recombinant XBB (nicknamed Gryphon). Compared to its direct progenitor, XBB.1, XBB.1.16 carries additional spike mutations in key antigenic sites, potentia...

Neutralizing antibodies (NtAbs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are indicators of vaccine efficacy that enable immunity surveillance. However, the rapid mutation of SARS-CoV-2 variants prevents the timely establis...

Objectives: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with enhanced immune evasion capabilities poses ongoing challenges for maintaining population-level immunity. This study aim to evaluate neutralizing antibody responses to the wild-type (WT) strain and...

(1) Background: The global coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination adapts to protect populations from emerging variants. This communication presents interim findings from the new Omicron XBB.1.16-adapted PHH-1V81 protein-based vaccine compared to an XBB...

The recent emergence of a number of new SARS-CoV-2 variants resulting from recombination between two distinct parental lineages or sub-lineages within the same lineage has sparked the debate regarding potential enhanced viral infectivity and immune e...

Recently updated COVID-19 mRNA vaccines encode the spike protein of the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 and are recommended for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on immunosuppressive treatment. Nonetheless, their immunogenicity in patients wi...

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is a major threat to human health, has undergone many mutations during the replication process due to errors in the replication steps and modifications in the structure of viral proteins. The XBB variant was identified for...

SARS-CoV-2 caused a life-threatening COVID-19 pandemic outbreak worldwide. The Southeastern Region of Wisconsin, USA (SERW) includes large urban Milwaukee and six suburban counties, namely Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha....

Background: Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) have impaired vaccine immunogenicity and an excess risk of severe COVID-19. While variant-adapted COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are recommended for vulnerable individuals, their efficacy in patients with...

In the post-pandemic era, evaluating long-term immunity against COVID-19 has become increasingly critical, particularly in light of continuous SARS-CoV-2 mutations. This study aimed to assess the long-term humoral immune response in sera collected in...

Background: Mucosal immunity plays a pivotal role in preventing infections with SARS-CoV-2. While COVID-19 mRNA vaccines induce robust systemic immune responses in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), little is known about their efficacy i...

Vaccination remains an important mitigation tool against COVID-19. We report 1-month safety and preliminary immunogenicity data from a substudy of an ongoing, open-label, phase 2/3 study of monovalent Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 (single 30-μg...

The new Nuvaxovid protein-based and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-based vaccines targeting Omicron XBB.1.5 were available during the 2023–2024 autumn/winter vaccination campaign for frail individuals, including people with HIV (PWH). We assessed the imm...

The spread of COVID-19 continues, expressed by periodic wave-like increases in morbidity and mortality. The reason for the periodic increases in morbidity is the emergence and spread of novel genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2. A decrease in the efficacy...

Our study was to investigate the effects of bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccination during pregnancy on neutralizing antibody (Nab) levels in maternal blood (MB), transplacental transmission in umbilical cord blood (CB), and efficacy against Omicron SA...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) primarily causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in humans, but infection can also lead to long-term complications, including chronic fatigue, respiratory and cardiac issues, or even d...

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to severe respiratory illness, rapid disease progression, and higher rates of intensive care unit admission in pregnant women. Infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of...

Background: A decrease in governmental vaccination initiatives and diminishing public enthusiasm for vaccines could jeopardize vaccine uptake, potentially endangering those who are most at risk. In this survey study, we evaluated the current acceptan...

The rapid mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has led to multiple rounds of large-scale breakthrough infection and reinfection worldwide. However, the dynamic changes of humoral and cellular immunity responses to several subvariants after infection remain unclear...

(1) Background: The currently circulating variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exhibits resistance to antibodies induced by vaccines. The World Health Organization recommended the use of monovalent XBB.1 sublineages...

Neutralizing antibody responses from COVID-19 vaccines are pivotal in conferring protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Effective COVID-19 vaccines and assays measuring neutralizing antibodies against emergin...

(1) Background: We previously reported the development of a recombinant protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, consisting of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide (alum) and CpG oligonucleotides. I...

The evaluation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine immunogenicity remains essential as the severe acute respiratory syncytial virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues to evolve and as additional variants emerge. Neutralizing antibodies are...

Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines that contain BA.1 or BA.4/BA.5 have been introduced worldwide in response to pandemic waves of Omicron subvariants. This prospective cohort study was aimed to compare neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) against Omicron subvarian...

Background: Hemodialysis patients have reduced serologic immunity after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination compared to the general population and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Sixty-six hemodialysis patients im...

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has exhibited a rapid progression around the world, but its molecular insights in North Africa remain understudied. This study characterizes the genetic diversity, dynamics, and evolutionary trends of the Omicron varian...

In this study, we performed a computational study of binding mechanisms for the SARS-CoV-2 spike Omicron XBB lineages with the host cell receptor ACE2 and a panel of diverse class one antibodies. The central objective of this investigation was to exa...

On 5 May 2023, WHO declared the end of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a public health emergency of international concern. However, the risk of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants causing rapid and high su...

SARS-CoV-2 remains a severe threat to worldwide public health, particularly as the virus continues to evolve and diversify into variants of concern (VOCs). Among these VOCs, Omicron variants exhibit unique phenotypic traits, such as immune evasion, t...

Evolutionary and functional studies suggested that the emergence of the Omicron variants can be determined by multiple fitness trade-offs including the immune escape, binding affinity for ACE2, conformational plasticity, protein stability and alloste...

The surface spike (S) glycoprotein mediates cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the host through fusion at the plasma membrane or endocytosis. Omicron lineages/sublineages have acquired extensive mutations in S to gain transmissibility advantages and alter...

Most available neutralizing antibodies are ineffective against highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Therefore, it is crucial to develop potent and broad-spectrum alternatives to effectively manage Omicron subvariants. Here, we constructed a...

The relationship between pangolin-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 has been a subject of debate. Further evidence of a special relationship between the two viruses can be found by the fact that all known COVID-19 viruses have an abnormally hard outer shell (low M...

In the current study, we explore coarse-grained simulations and atomistic molecular dynamics together with binding energetics scanning and cryptic pocket detection in a comparative examination of conformational landscapes and systematic characterizat...

The emergence of new immune-evasive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants and subvariants outpaces the development of vaccines specific against the dominant circulating strains. In terms of the only accepted immune cor...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue to emerge. Immunogenicity evaluation of vaccines and identification of correlates of protection for vaccine effectiveness is critica...

Waves of breakthrough infections by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants currently pose a global challenge to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We previously reported a pVAX1-based DNA vaccine candidate, pAD1002, that encodes a receptor-binding domain...

While SARS-CoV-2 has transitioned to an endemic phase, infections caused by newly emerged variants continue to result in severe, and sometimes fatal, outcomes or lead to long-term COVID-19 symptoms. Vulnerable populations, such as PLWH, face an eleva...

The first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic were mainly characterized by recurrent mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein at residues K417, L452, E484, N501 and P681 emerging independently across different variants of concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and D...

As new SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to emerge, it is important to evaluate the potency of antiviral drugs to support their continued use. Remdesivir (RDV; VEKLURY®) an approved antiviral treatment for COVID-19, and obeldesivir (ODV) are inhibitor...

Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still a threat to human health globally despite the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at national borders w...

Background: this study aims to evaluate the efficacy of tixagevimab/cilgavimab (Evusheld™) against various SARS-CoV-2 variants, including newer Omicron sublineages, in an immunocompromised cohort and in vitro. Study design: Conducted in Italy,...

To better understand the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants, we performed molecular evolutionary analyses of the spike (S) protein gene/S protein using advanced bioinformatics technologies. First, time-scaled phylogenetic analysis estima...

LCB1 is a computationally designed three-helix miniprotein that precisely targets the spike (S) receptor-binding motif (RBM) of SARS-CoV-2, exhibiting remarkable antiviral efficacy; however, emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants could substantially compromise...

SARS-CoV-2 new waves are primarily caused by changes to the spike protein (S), which can substantially decrease the efficacy of vaccines. Therefore, we tested several multivalent mRNA-LNP vaccines, targeting the full-length S proteins of different va...