Page 31 - Covid_NL_11_9_21

markers of severe COVID-19. This gene signature can be detected by RT-PCR in the nasal swabs, which are collected for COVID-19 diagnosis.
In the study, the researchers also identified multiple host processes, which may be involved in virus replication and disease progression, and may serve as targets for host-directed therapy. Crucially, a redox regulatory protein called Thioredoxin (TXN) was found to be consistently upregulated in COVID-19 patients. Auranofin, an FDA-approved drug that targets the enzyme thioredoxin reductase and blocks the thioredoxin pathway, was found to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture as well as in the preclinical Syrian hamster model. Auranofin is a safe and economical drug used for arthritis treatment. The study, therefore, suggests that it could serve as a promising COVID-19 antiviral.
Contact info:
shashankt@iisc.ac.in
Website link:
https://iisc.ac.in/leads-for-covid-19-prognosis-and-therapy-from-nasal-swabs/
Fighting COVID-19 viral variants with a heat-tolerant vaccine
A ‘warm’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by an Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and Mynvax team was found to trigger a strong immune response and protection in mice and hamster models, in results published recently in ACS Infectious Diseases. Crucially, the vaccine formulation also triggered neutralising antibodies – those that bind to the virus and prevent infection – against all four current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.
The vaccinated sera (blood) samples from animal models were tested for their neutralising ability against the variants by researchers at CSIR-IMTech, Chandigarh and the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, run by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.
The vaccine candidate has been designed by genetically engineering a domain of the surface spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, called the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD), which plays a
VOL. IV ISSUE 10
VIGYAN PRASAR 27
COVID-19 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS IN INDIA