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SARS-CoV-2/COVID19

Global Outbreaks of Monkeypox

By vgn1 | May 25, 2022

May 25, 2022  Introduction  WHO and other health organizations are alarmed at the recent global outbreak of monkeypox. As of May 21, 2022, more than 80 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in at least 12 countries outside of Africa (1). The first case of the disease in the UK was reported on May 7,…

Impact of the Omicron variants on the Ongoing Pandemic

By vgn1 | May 10, 2022

Impact of the Omicron variants on the Ongoing Pandemic May 10, 2022 Introduction  The emergence of the Omicron variant in November 2021 has led to a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases worldwide. Since then, Omicron has kept evolving into several different sublineages. Furthermore, recombinant Omicron variants have been detected in patients by coinfection with the…

Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators (SPMs) as Potential Covid-19 Therapeutic

By vgn1 | April 21, 2022

April 21, 2022 Introduction  Our last Perspective described how the timing of the type 1 interferon (IFN) response is a critical early point in determining whether infection with SARS-CoV2 will lead to severe disease or not. IFN activity later in infection, when disease has already developed, is apparently ineffective, and is instead detrimental. Indeed, an…

Impact of Interferon on Disease Severity of Covid-19

By vgn1 | March 28, 2022

Impact of Interferon on Disease Severity of Covid-19 March 28, 2022 Introduction  Types 1 and 3 interferon (IFN) expression and activity have been shown to play a significant role in determining the disease severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is becoming clear that the timing of IFN expression is critical in the efficacy of the early…

Is Bradykinin Involved in Covid-19 Pathogenesis?

By vgn1 | March 18, 2022

Is Bradykinin Involved in Covid-19 Pathogenesis? March 18, 2022 Inflammation  One of the hallmarks of Covid-19 disease is inflammation, mediated in part by overproduction of inflammatory cytokines. However, the mechanisms of such inflammatory process have not been clearly understood. In the past year the potential role of bradykinin, a small peptide and a members of…

COVID-19 and the Gut Microbiome

By vgn1 | February 11, 2022

February 11, 2022 Effects of Microbiomes The importance of the immunomodulatory effects of gut microbial populations has now been well recognized. In addition to their normal beneficial effects, alterations in the gut microbiota composition can lead to profound immune dysregulation and systemic inflammation. Because severe COVID-19 and long term COVID are driven by inappropriate immune…

Cell-Mediated and Innate Immunity Against SARS-CoV-2: What is Known

By vgn1 | January 26, 2022

Cell-Mediated and Innate Immunity Against SARS-CoV-2: What is Known January 26, 2022 Titers of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 have proven a reasonable predictor of protection against infection and disease. However, T cell responses (CD8+ and CD4+), innate immune mechanisms, and Fc-mediated cellular cytotoxicity can also provide protective immunity against the virus. T cells The…

Omicron: Transmissibility, Immune Evasion, and Pathogenicity

By vgn1 | January 13, 2022

Omicron: Transmissibility, Immune Evasion, and Pathogenicity January 13, 2022 We are currently in a wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections dominated by the recently discovered omicron variant. What new threats does it pose? It is clearly able to overcome immune barriers to infection. Also, this variant is far more transmissible than others, making it an hyper transmissible…

Deltacron: a new variant or a laboratory contamination?  

By vgn1 | January 11, 2022

Deltacron: a new variant or a laboratory contamination? Scientists have recently reported the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variant, “Deltacron”, resulting from the recombination of Omicron and Delta variants in infected patients. According to a GVN scientist, Deltacron is not a new variant, but the result of laboratory contamination. His sequence analysis suggests that the Omicron…

GVN and Monaco COVID-19 Diagnostic Conference: Executive Summary

By vgn1 | December 7, 2021

A December 2-3, 2021 Conference Towards the Deployment of a Global and Collaborative Diagnostic Arsenal to Detect and Fight Against Pandemics Amid global spread of the Omicron variant, under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Global Virus Network(GVN), the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco,…