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Immunology

New genetic knowledge on the causes of severe COVID-19 – Newswise

Newswise Worldwide, otherwise healthy adolescents and young people without underlying conditions are sometimes severely affected by COVID-19, with the viral infection in the worst cases quickly becoming life-threatening. But why is this happening?

A world-wide consortium of researchers is determined to investigate this - and they have now made so much progress thatSciencehas just published two scientific articles describing some of their results.

Professor Trine Mogensen from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University is co-author on the two research articles inScience. She conducts research into rare immunodeficiencies that lead to increased susceptibility to viral infections and, together with her research group, participates in the steering committee of the research consortium Covid human genetic effort (covidhge) as the only Danish representativ.

She explains that in the vast majority of people, infection with the COVID-19 causing coronavirus leads to an anti-viral response in which interferon plays a crucial role. Interferon is an importantimmune signaling hormone that slows the division of the virus and prevents it from penetrating the surrounding cells. In the event of a viral infection, the body normally quickly begins producing interferon, and the virus can be brought under control withing a few hours. In popular terms, interferon is our first safeguard against an infection.

"However, if there are defects in the interferon signalling pathways, there is nothing to inhibit the virus dividing, and while the coronavirus usually remains in the cells in the throat, it can in this case also infect other parts of the body such as the lungs, kidneys and perhaps even the brain," explains Trine Mogensen, who also is Medical Specialist at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Genetic and immunological analyses of blood samples from 650 patients from all over the world with severe COVID-19 show that some of these patients have an inherited immunodeficiency which leads to the anti-viral interferon either not being produced or not working on the body's cells. Blood samples from 1,226 healthy individuals have functioned as a control group - with all of the samples being taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers have obtained consent to collect blood samples and carry out a genetic analysis from hospitalized and severely ill COVID-19 patients. From the blood samples, the researchers have purified immune cells from the 650 patients and subsequently infected these immune cells with coronavirus, which enabled them to ascertain that the immune system was not properly activated. In addition, a genetic sequencing of DNA from the 650 patients has been carried out, with some of this work being carried out at Aarhus University Hospital.

"Our DNA consists of approximately 20,000 genes, and we have found defects in thirteen different genes. This means that the proteins which the genes encode become defective and therefore cannot perform their role in the immune system. We're already aware of some of these genetic defects from patients affected by severe influenza, but some are new and specific to COVID-19," says Trine Mogensen.

The next task for the international research consortium is to translate - i.e. transfer - the basic immunological findings to the treatment of patients, and the first clinical trials are on the way. Medical doctors will be able to measure whether the patients have autoantibodies in their blood as these are relatively easy to measure, and if they are, they can be filtered from the blood. It will also be possible to screen for the thirteen critical genes identified and in this way have the ability to identify particularly vulnerable individuals. This group will then be able to receive preventative medical treatment and a vaccine once this is available.

"The goal is to prevent the very severe cases of COVID-19 with high mortality rates," summarizes Trine Mogensen, who is optimistic and hopes that the clinical trials will demonstrate positive results - perhaps already within a year.

She does not only base her optimism on the unique international collaboration which exists in the COVID Human Genetic Effort, as the international research consortium is named.

"I've never experienced anything like it before in my field of immunology and infectious diseases. We share knowledge and work together in a very altruistic spirit," she adds. The consortium comprises more than 250 researchers under the overall leadership of Professor Jean-Laurent Casanova from The Rockefeller University in the United States - with the professor also serving as an Honorary Skou professor at Aarhus University since 2019.

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New genetic knowledge on the causes of severe COVID-19 - Newswise

Immunology

Dewpoint Therapeutics Raises $77M Series B Financing to Advance the Development of Drugs That Target Biomolecular Condensates – BioSpace

BOSTON, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dewpoint Therapeutics, the biomolecular condensates company, today announced it has raised $77 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from new investors Maverick Ventures and Bellco Capital, and existing investors Leaps by Bayer, EcoR1 Capital, Polaris Partners, Samsara BioCapital, and Innovation Endeavors.

"We are delighted to have ARCH Venture Partners lead this financing, and to welcome new investors into the condensate field," said Amir Nashat, managing partner of Polaris Partners and interim CEO of Dewpoint. "Our proprietary platform has already generated two significant external collaborations with Merck and Bayer, and today's announcement underscores the interest in biomolecular condensates among investors with a track record of backing groundbreaking science."

Dewpoint's proprietary condensates platform provides the ability to see and understand the complex interactions of biomolecular communitiesand to find drugs that intervene in entirely new ways. Dewpoint will use proceeds from this round to further develop its platform and identify additional compounds that modulate these condensates.

"Dewpoint is the international center of gravity for developing and translating condensate science into drugs," said Kristina Burow, managing director at ARCH Venture Partners. "The company is well positioned to leverage novel insights into fundamental biology and utilize this groundbreaking biology to create transformational therapeutics."

"The Dewpoint team is a unique combination of executives who have brought more than ten drugs to market and researchers who have spent the last several years defining the science of condensates," said Oleg Nodelman, founder and portfolio manager of EcoR1 Capital. "This collection of drug hunters is a powerful force."

In addition to announcing its Series B, Dewpoint today announced the addition of Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Ciaramella is president and chief scientific officer of Beam Therapeutics. Prior to Beam, Dr. Ciaramella served at Moderna, first as head of immunology and biotherapeutics, then as chief scientific officer of its infectious diseases division. Prior to Moderna, he held senior drug development roles at AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Pfizer. Dr. Ciaramella holds a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from University College London.

Dewpoint's proprietary platform uses high-throughput methods to test libraries of potential drugs for the desired effect, identifying compounds that modulate biomolecular condensates in specific diseases of immediate interest to Dewpoint and its partners. Approaches to modulating condensates that may positively impact disease include dissolving or forming condensates, modulating the composition of condensates, stabilizing condensates, and selective drug delivery into condensates.

In July 2020, Dewpoint announced an exclusive collaboration with Merck (MSD) to leverage Dewpoint's proprietary biomolecular condensate platform for the development of a novel mechanism for the treatment of HIV. In November 2019, Dewpoint announced a collaboration with Bayer, combining the potential of Dewpoint's condensate platform with Bayer's small molecule compound library to develop new treatments for cardiovascular and gynecological diseases.

In addition to disease areas where Dewpoint has announced collaborations, the company is exploring potential therapeutic opportunities in oncology, neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, and immunology.

About Biomolecular Condensates Biomolecular condensates, formed through a process called phase separation, are membraneless droplets inside cells that facilitate molecular interactions and help cells perform vital functions. Condensates have been shown to play a critical role in key biological processes and in serious, intractable diseases across areas including neurodegeneration, cancer, inflammation, infectious disease, metabolic disease, and rare genetic disorders. The first condensates were observed more than 100 years ago. It is only in the last dozen years, though, that scientistsincluding Dewpoint founders Tony Hyman of the Max Planck Institute in Dresden and Rick Young of the Whitehead Institutehave begun to understand the dynamic nature and function of condensates. Dewpoint develops drugs that exploit this biology. Prior to the discovery of biomolecular condensate function, it was unknown how the right molecules could find each other at the right time to catalyze important processes in the crowded molecular environment of the cell.

About Dewpoint TherapeuticsDewpoint Therapeutics is the first to apply the emerging understanding of biomolecular condensates to drug discovery. Dewpoint believes that a vast range of conditions have pathways that are regulated by condensates or arise from the dysfunction of condensates including cancer, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disease. Dewpoint scientists work in Boston, Dresden, and Berlin to translate condensate biology into treatments for the toughest diseases.

Learn more at dewpointx.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Scientists or investors interested in biomolecular condensates can also visit condensates.com for news and updates in the field.

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Dewpoint Therapeutics Raises $77M Series B Financing to Advance the Development of Drugs That Target Biomolecular Condensates - BioSpace

Immunology

Global Mice Model Market Research Report 2020: Increasing Implications of Mouse Clinical Trials (MCTs) for More Predictive Outcomes and Ongoing…

Dublin, Sept. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Mice Model Market by Mice Type (Inbred, Knockout), Technology (CRISPR, TALEN, ZFN), Application (Oncology, Diabetes, Immunology), Service (Breeding, Cryopreservation, Genetic Testing), Care Products (Cages, Bedding, Feed), and Region - Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global mice model market size is projected to reach USD 1.9 billion by 2025 from USD 1.4 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period.

The major factors driving the growth of this market are the Growing R&D expenditure in the pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical industry, increasing implications of mouse clinical trials (MCTs) for more predictive outcomes and ongoing innovations in mice models are driving the growth of the global mice model industry. However, Implementation of laws and regulations for animal protection and welfare has enforced restrictive practices and bans on the use of animals for different purposes that may restrict the growth of this market to a certain extent.

Asia Pacific: The fastest-growing region in the mice model market

The Asia Pacific market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Several global pharmaceutical firms have entered the APAC market to tap the significant growth opportunities in emerging Asian countries and lower their production costs by shifting their drug discovery R&D operations and manufacturing to the region. A large number of qualified researchers and low-cost operations in APAC countries, such as India and China, are some of the major factors supporting this trend.

North America: The largest share of the drug discovery services market

North America, which includes the US and Canada, accounted for the largest share of the mice model market. The large share of the North America region can be attributed to the presence of major players operating in the mice model market in the US, growing biomedical research in the US, and rising preclinical activities by CROs and pharmaceutical companies in the region.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights4.1 Mice Model Market Overview4.2 Asia-Pacific: Mice Model Market Share, by Mice Care Product and by Country (2019)4.3 Mice Model Market, by Mice Type4.4 Mice Model Market Share, by Service, 2020 Vs. 20254.5 Mice Model Market, by Application, 2020 Vs. 2025 (USD Million)

5 Market Overview5.1 Introduction5.2 Market Dynamics5.2.1 Market Drivers5.2.1.1 Growing Usage of Mice Models in Virology and Infectious Diseases5.2.1.2 Increasing Implications of Mouse Clinical Trials (MCTS) for More Predictive Outcomes5.2.1.3 Increasing Demand for Personalized Medicine5.2.2 Restraints5.2.2.1 Regulations and Laws for the Ethical Use of Animals in Research5.2.3 Opportunities5.2.3.1 CRISPR Emerging as a Powerful Tool in Biomedical Research5.2.3.2 Rising Demand for Humanized Mice Models5.2.4 Challenges5.2.4.1 Development of Alternative Animal Testing Methods5.2.5 Threats5.2.5.1 Growing Use of Rat Models5.3 Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Growth of the Mice Model Market

6 Regulatory Assessment6.1 Introduction6.2 North America6.3 Europe6.4 China6.5 Japan6.6 India6.7 Australia6.8 Brazil

7 Clinical Studies Assessment7.1 Introduction7.2 Clinical Studies

8 Mice Model Market, by Mice Type8.1 Introduction8.2 Inbred Mice8.2.1 Increasing Applications of Inbred Mice Likely to Drive the Market8.3 Outbred Mice8.3.1 Genetic Diversity Offered by Outbred Mice to Boost the Market8.4 Genetically Engineered Mice8.4.1 Increasing Focus on Personalized Medicines to Drive Demand8.5 Hybrid/Congenic Mice8.5.1 Increasing Use of Congenic Mice in Biomedical Research Contributes to Market Growth8.6 Conditioned/Surgically Modified Mice8.6.1 Increasing Incidence of Metabolic Diseases to Drive the Market8.7 Spontaneous Mutant Mice8.7.1 Advancements in Biomedical Research and Increasing Applications to Boost Demand

9 Mice Model Market, by Service9.1 Introduction9.2 Breeding9.2.1 Growing Number of Mice Model Studies to Boost the Market9.3 Cryopreservation9.3.1 Need for Preservation of Novel Mice Models Likely to Drive the Market9.4 Quarantine9.4.1 Rising Demand for Germ-Free Mice to Boost Market9.5 Rederivation9.5.1 Stringent Quality Assurance Standards to Boost the Market9.6 Model In-Licensing9.6.1 Increasing Independent Research by Scientific Community Likely to Fuel Market Growth9.7 Genetic Testing9.7.1 Rising Demand for Transgenic Mice Likely to Drive the Market9.8 Other Services

10 Mice Model Market, by Technology10.1 Introduction10.2 CRISPR/Cas910.2.1 Advantages of CRISPR Likely to Boost Segment Growth10.3 Microinjection10.3.1 High Success Rate and Lack of Constraints to Propel Segment10.4 Embryonic Stem Cell Injection10.4.1 Growing Demand for Targeted Mice Models to Propel the Market10.5 Nuclear Transfer10.5.1 Potential to Produce Identical Mice is Likely to Drive Market Growth10.6 Other Technologies10.6.1 Sperm-Mediated Gene Transfer10.6.2 Virus/Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer10.6.3 Liposome-Mediated Dna and Electroporation of DNA10.6.4 Biolistics10.6.5 Talens and ZFNS

11 Mice Model Market, by Application11.1 Introduction11.2 Oncology Studies11.2.1 Increasing Implications of Mice Models in Study of Cancer to Drive the Market11.3 Immunology and Inflammation Studies11.3.1 Development of Advanced Models for Human Immunology Studies to Boost Market Growth11.4 Endocrine Metabolic Studies11.4.1 Growing Prevalence of Metabolic Disorders Likely to Drive the Market11.4.2 Diabetes Studies11.4.3 Other Endocrine Metabolic Studies11.5 Cardiovascular Studies11.5.1 Rising Burden of Cardiovascular Disorders Has Boosted Overall R&D Activity11.6 Central Nervous System (CNS) Studies11.6.1 Increasing Focus on Mice Model Development for CNS Disorders to Propel Market11.7 Genetic Studies11.7.1 Advancements in Gene Editing Techniques to Drive the Market11.8 Infectious Disease Studies11.8.1 Increasing Outbreaks of Infectious Diseases to Propel Drug Development Activities11.9 Other Disease Studies

12 Mice Model Market, by Mice Care Product12.1 Introduction12.2 Cages12.2.1 Development of Different Cage Systems to Drive the Market12.3 Feed12.3.1 Preference for Healthy and Powered Diet to Drive the Market12.4 Bedding12.4.1 Environmental Enrichment Strategy for Welfare of Laboratory Animals Likely to Boost Market Growth12.5 Other Mice Care Products

13 Mice Model Market, by Region

14 Competitive Landscape14.1 Introduction14.2 Market Ranking AnalysisFigure 23 Company Ranking in the Mice Model Market, 2019

15 Company Evaluation Matrix and Company Profiles15.1 Overview15.2 Mice Model Market: Company Evaluation Matrix15.2.1 Stars15.2.2 Emerging Leaders15.2.3 Pervasive Companies15.2.4 Participants15.3 Market Evaluation Framework15.4 Competitive Scenario15.4.1 Key Product Launches15.4.2 Key Acquisitions15.4.3 Key Collaborations15.4.4 Key Service Expansions15.5 Company Profiles15.5.1 Charles River Laboratories International15.5.2 The Jackson Laboratory15.5.3 Envigo15.5.4 Genoway15.5.5 Taconic Biosciences, Inc.15.5.6 Janvier Labs15.5.7 Harbour Biomed15.5.8 Trans Genic, Inc.15.5.9 Ingenious Targeting Laboratory15.5.10 Polygene15.5.11 GVK Bio15.5.12 Cyagen Biosciences15.5.13 Crown Bioscience Inc. (Subsidiary of JSR Corporation)15.5.14 Transcure Bioservices15.5.15 Ozgene Pty. Ltd.15.5.16 The Andersons, Inc.15.5.17 Fengshi Group15.5.18 Allentown, LLC15.5.19 Innovive15.5.20 Lab Products, Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2smp0w

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Physiology

Gene expression altered by direction of forces acting on cell | Illinois – University of Illinois News

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Tissues and cells in the human body are subjected to a constant push and pull strained by other cells, blood pressure and fluid flow, to name a few. The type and direction of the force on a cell alters gene expression by stretching different regions of DNA, researchers at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and collaborators in China found in a new study.

The findings could provide insights into physiology and diseases such as fibrosis, cardiovascular disease and malignant cancer, the researchers said.

Force is everywhere in the human body, and both external and internal forces can influence your body far more than you may have thought, said study leader Ning Wang, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at Illinois. These strains profoundly influence cellular behaviors and physiological functions, which are initiated at the level of gene expression.

The effects of physical forces and signals on cells, tissues and organs have been less studied than those of chemical signals and responses, yet physical forces play an important role in how cells function and respond to their environment, Wang said.

Most studies seeking to understand the mechanics of cells apply force using a microscope cantilever probe to tap a cells surface or a focused laser beam to move a tiny particle across the surface. However, these techniques can only move in one dimension. This incomplete picture leaves fundamental questions unanswered, Wang said for example, the difference in the responses to shear stress from blood flow and stretching from blood pressure.

Wang and his collaborators developed a method that allows them to move a magnetic bead in any direction, giving them a picture of the ways forces act on a cell in 3D. They call it three-dimensional magnetic twisting cytometry.

They found that the force from the magnetic bead caused a rapid increase in expression for certain genes, but the amount of the increase depended on the direction the bead moved. When the bead rolled along the long axis of the cell, the increase was the lowest, but when the force was applied perpendicularly across the short axis of the cell gene activity increased the most. When the bead was moved at a 45-degree angle or rotated in the same plane as the cell to induce shear stress, the response was intermediate.

These observations show that gene upregulation and activation are very sensitive to the mode of the applied force, when the magnitude of the force remains unchanged, Wang said.

In further experiments, the researchers found that the reason for the difference lies in the method that the forces are relayed to the cells nucleus, where DNA is housed. Cells have a network of support structures called the cytoskeleton, and the main force-bearing elements are long fibers of the protein actin. When they bend due to a force, they relay that force to the nucleus and stretch the chromosomes.

These actin fibers run lengthwise along the cell. So when the force strains them widthwise, they deform more, stretching the chromosomes more and causing greater gene activity, the researchers found. They published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

A stress fiber is like a tense violin string. When a stress is applied across the short axis of the cell, its just like when a person plucks a violin string vertically from the strings direction to produce a louder, more forceful sound, Wang said.

The researchers next step will be to create disease models to see how different forces might help explain the mechanism of certain diseases, and to identify possible therapeutic targets or applications.

In certain diseases, such as aortic valve calcification, arterial atherosclerosis, liver fibrosis or malignant tumors, these cellular responses and adaptation go awry, causing the tissues and organs to function abnormally, Wang said. This is the first time that the mechanism of living cells different biological responses to the direction of forces at the level of genes has been revealed, so perhaps with our three-dimensional approach we can understand these diseases better.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation of China supported this work. Wang is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the Cancer Center at Illinois, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, the department of bioengineering and the Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Lab at Illinois.

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Gene expression altered by direction of forces acting on cell | Illinois - University of Illinois News

Physiology

McMurry University announces annual alumni recognition awards – Abilene Reporter-News

McMurry University, in a news release, announced the selections made by theAlumni Association Board of Directors for the school's annual awards recognizing past graduates.

Dr. Paul E. Stubbs, who recently retired after50 years of owning and operating family dental practices in Austin and Georgetown, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Stubbs receiveda bachelor of arts degree in biology from McMurry in 1961. He also holds a master of science degree in physiology fromWayne State University College of Medicine and a doctor of dental surgery degree fromBaylor College of Dentistry.

In addition to serving on theon the faculty of McMurry College Biology Department, Stubbs, has served as presidentof both the Austin District Dental Society and Texas Dental Association board of directors. He also served the American Dental Association as chairman of theCouncil on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations.

Stubbs was appointed by the governor to serve on the State Board of Dental Examiners, and was president of theWestern Regional Examining Board in 2008, and was the WREBChief Examiner for dental and dental hygiene board examinations until 2016. He received theGold Medal Service Award from the Texas Dental Association in 2013.

Stubbs, who is also a fellow in theAmerican College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists, served as ICD president in 2013, and was named a Master Fellow in 2018.

The board also namedShaun Martin, a 1999 graduate, as named the recipient of this year'sYoung Alumni Achievement Award.

Martin holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication and psychology (summa cum laude) from McMurry, and also received a master of science degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

After 10 years working for Hendrick Health System, Martin served as executive director ofJunior Achievement of Abilene for three years before, in 2014,joining Atmos Energy as manager of public affairs.

Martin is servingas civic leader toGen. Maryanne Miller in the Air Force's Air Mobility Command and vice chairman of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee. He is also on a variety of community boards, including those of the Abilene Industrial Foundation, Taylor County Expo Center and Civic Abilene.

TheAlumni Association also named five recipients of this year's Outstanding Alumni Awards. They are:Rochelle McSherry Johnson, 1986; Don Taylor, 1956;Sarah Sheppard Shaver, 2002;Tyler McCracken, 2008; andSara von Ende Orr, 1993.

The awards will be presented Oct. 17 in a closed ceremony, which will be livestreamed for theMcMurry Alumni Association.

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McMurry University announces annual alumni recognition awards - Abilene Reporter-News

Physiology

Keio University Research: Combating COVID-19: Nationwide genomic analysis to study possible reasons for the low COVID-19 mortality rate in Japan -…

https://research-highlights.keio.ac.jp/

On 21 May, 2020, the Joint Research Coronavirus Task Force was launched in Japan to promote the development of a mucosal vaccine for COVID-19 based on advanced genomic analysis.

"We will analyze 600 blood samples taken from Japanese COVID-19 patients located in approximately 100 hospitals throughout Japan," explains Takanori Kanai of the Keio University School of Medicine, who leads the task force. "One of the goals of the research is to try to understand why the mortality rate due to COVID-19 has remained significantly lower in Japan than the United States and European countries. We think it may be related to genetic differences. We want to resolve this issue and share our results with our colleagues around the world."

Background and goals

This research is being undertaken by experts affiliated with Keio University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Osaka University, the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kitasato University, and Kyoto University.

"Our research team includes specialists in infectious diseases as well as other fields such as molecular genetics, computational science, and gastroenterology, which is my area of expertise, and is not directly related to epidemiology or infectious diseases," says Kanai. "This project was conceived by a small group of medical doctors and researchers without experience of handling infectious diseases. But the actual project is interdisciplinary, with members including ICU and medical care staff at university hospitals, community healthcare practitioners, immunologists, and even members of the general public. Ultimately, we want to contribute to society through medicine and science."

Working hypotheses for possible reasons for fewer COVID-19 deaths in Japan and Asia

The members of the task force compiled the following list of potential reasons for the low mortality rate in Japan: Japan's world-class medical system; a history of regular face mask use and attention to hygiene (including hand washing) in daily life; a culture of avoiding physical contact akin to social distancing; low expression of virus receptors; BCG vaccination; and differences in immune response due to differences in racial HLA and other polymorphisms.

Gathering samples and genetic information

The task force's goals are to establish a medical response system to predict who is at risk of contracting severe COVID-19 and develop a vaccine using proprietary technology. Genomic analysis technology is being employed to elucidate the genetic basis of the mechanisms that trigger COVID-19 infections to worsen, and thereby develop methods to fight the disease and develop a mucosal vaccine.

The team is focusing on the fact that the number of COVID-19 deaths per capita is far smaller in the Japanese population than it is in Western countries. The 600 blood samples are being studied by methods including high-resolution HLA analysis, SNP array and whole-genome sequence analysis, and T-cell repertoire analysis.

"Our analysis is being used to compare severe cases with mild and asymptomatic cases to identify genes that may be responsible for the exacerbation of COVID-19 in Japanese patients," explains Kanai. "Regarding vaccine development, predicting the target epitope is a major challenge. We are planning to use supercomputer simulations to identify potential antigens for SARS-CoV-2 based on our results for determining the genes that lead to severe cases of COVID-19 in Japanese patients."

Initial findings will be announced in September 2020

The task force plans to announce the initial findings of their research in September 2020. This will include the identities of the genes associated with triggering severe cases of COVID-19 among Japanese people that could be used to predict potential severity during early diagnostics.

"We want to use our results to produce guidelines to mitigate the dangers of overloading the medical care system during potential second or possibly third waves of COVID-19," says Kanai. "Furthermore, our immunological genetic information will be valuable for designing potential vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 for many Japanese people. We will share our results with colleagues in other countries so that they can use them to develop strategies to combat COVID-19 for their own populations."

About the researcher

Takanori Kanai Professor

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine

Takanori Kanai graduated from the Keio University School of Medicine in 1988. Between 1989 and 2003 he held teaching positions at the Keio University School of Medicine, Keio Cancer Center, and Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU). He has also held distinguished positions including as a committee member of the Harvard Medical Institute Educational Program at TMDU; Section Editor of the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Associate Editor of Journal of Gastroenterology; Editorial Board Member, American Journal of Physiology and Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology; and Clinical Professor of Medicine (Visiting), TMDU. At the Keio University School of Medicine, he was appointed as an associate professor in 2007 and a professor in 2013, and he has been serving as a vice dean since 2017.

Links

COVID-19 taskforce https://www.covid19-taskforce.jp/en/home/

Takanori Kanai informationhttps://k-ris.keio.ac.jp/html/100002919_en.html

Further informationKeio UniversityOffice of Research Development and Sponsored Projects2-15-45 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345 JapanE-mail: [emailprotected]

WebsitesKeio Universityhttps://www.keio.ac.jp/en/

Keio Research Highlightshttps://research-highlights.keio.ac.jp/

About Keio University

Keio University is a private, comprehensive university with six major campuses in the Greater Tokyo area along with a number of affiliated academic institutions. Keio prides itself on educational and research excellence in a wide range of fields and its state-of-the-art university hospital.

Keio was founded in 1858, and it is Japan's first modern institution of higher learning. Over the last century and a half, it has evolved into and continues to maintain its status as a leading university in Japan through its ongoing commitment to producing leaders of the future. Founder Yukichi Fukuzawa, a highly respected educator and one of the most important intellectuals of modern Japan, aspired for Keio to be a pioneer of new discoveries and contribute to society through learning.

SOURCE Keio University

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Keio University Research: Combating COVID-19: Nationwide genomic analysis to study possible reasons for the low COVID-19 mortality rate in Japan -...

Physiology

Celebrity Chef Carla Hall and University Chancellor Dr. Robert Jones Elected to National 4-H Council Board of Trustees – PRNewswire

CHEVY CHASE, Md., Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --National 4-H Council has announced the election of two new Trustees to its Board, Carla Hall and Dr. Robert Jones. Both Trustees and 4-H alums share a deep passion for diversity in agriculture and food equity, and will further support the organization's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Celebrity Chef, Cookbook Author and Tennessee 4-H alumna Carla Hall, who can currently be seen hosting Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship, was introduced to television audiences as a competitor on Bravo's "Top Chef" and "Top Chef: All Stars." She co-hosted ABC's Emmy award-winning lifestyle series, The Chew for over seven years and currently serves as a Culinary Contributor on "Good Morning America." She has an ongoing partnership with Food Network and will host additional series and specials with them this year and beyond. In addition to her television appearances, Hall hosts a podcast on the Wondery Platform called "Say Yes with Carla Hall." Hall's latest cookbook, "Carla Hall's Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration," was published in 2018, landing on annual "Best Cookbook" lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination. Hall's passion for diversity in food culture, agriculture and equity in food access is rooted in her philosophy that food connects us all.

"As a chef, I have an opportunity to share my passion for food and mindful cooking with the world," says Carla Hall. "I'm excited to continue my work with 4-H in this new role and join their efforts to empower all young people as they navigate the effects of the ongoing pandemic, digital divide and widening opportunity gap," added Hall. "By providing youth and their communities across the country with access to hands-on learning experiences in food, nutrition and wellness, they'll all have an opportunity to develop healthy living skills for a lifetime, no matter their circumstances."

A Georgia native and 4-H alumnus, Dr. Robert Jones earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy from Fort Valley State College, a master's degree in crop physiology from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in crop physiology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He began his academic career as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota in 1978, where he spent 34 years before becoming the President of the University at Albany, one of SUNY system's leading research universities. Dr. Jones now serves as the first African-American Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the first step in my career was joining my local 4-H club. Those meetings were the first organized events in my life outside of church or school and they set me on a course that changed the trajectory of my life," said Jones. "I found educational opportunities that opened up a world that I never knew existed. I believe that mission is even more vital and more critical today when limited access to childhood educational opportunities leads to unacceptable upper limits on a life and career. 4-H taught me to dream big. And it is my privilege to be able to pay that gift forward today," added Jones.

As Trustees, both Hall and Dr. Jones will support National 4-H Council's strategic priorities, which include growing investment and participation in Cooperative Extension's 4-H program from six million to 10 million youth by 2025 as well as a collaboration with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Given her focus on nutrition, Hall also plans to promote wellness, youth voice and hands-on skills development amongst young people.

"As passionate advocates for young people, agriculture and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, both Dr. Jones and Ms. Hall will move us even closer to our goal of providing all children with the opportunities they deserve so they can reach their full potential," says Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of National 4-H Council. "Our new Trustees' expertise will help us to drive National 4-H Council's new campaign, Opportunity4All, which aims to rally support for Cooperative Extension's 4-H program and eliminate the opportunity gap that affects 55 million kids across America," added Sirangelo.

Carla Hall: Chef and Author Washington, D.C.Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo's Top Chef and Top Chef: All Stars, where she shared her philosophy to always cook with love. She spent seven years co-hosting ABC's Emmy award winning, popular lifestyle series The Chew, and she currently appears as a Culinary Contributor on Good Morning America. In addition to her television appearances, Hall hosts a podcast on the Wondery Platform, Say Yes with Carla Hall. Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall's Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, landed on annual 'Best Cookbook' lists across the country and received an NAACP Image Awards nomination.

Born in Nashville, TN, Hall graduated from Howard University's Business School and worked as an accountant for two years, before deciding to switch gears to work as a runway model. It was during that time, as she traveled through Europe, that she realized her deep-rooted passion for food could be her career path. Hall is very active with a number of charities and not-for-profit organizations that reflect her passion for causes close to her heart, in particular advocating for the physical and mental well being of children.

Dr. Robert Jones: Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIllinoisDr. Jones became Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016, having previously served as President of the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). A Georgia native who studied agronomy and crop physiology, Dr. Jones is an experienced and accomplished scientist and researcher, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America.

During his distinguished, 34-year career at the University of Minnesota, amongst other duties, Dr. Jones had administrative and budgetary responsibilities for the offices for public engagement, equity and diversity, and played a leadership role in establishing the nation's first urban research and outreach/engagement center (UROC), which was designed to help find a solution to complex challenges in economically depressed urban communities. The center was named in Dr. Jones' honor in 2015.

About 4H4H, the nation's largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for career tomorrow. 4H programs empower nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. 4H is the youth development program of our nation's Cooperative Extension System and USDA and serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3000 local Extension offices. Globally, 4H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries. The research-backed 4H experience grows young people who are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs.

Learn more about 4H at http://www.4H.org, find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/4H and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H.

SOURCE National 4-H Council

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Celebrity Chef Carla Hall and University Chancellor Dr. Robert Jones Elected to National 4-H Council Board of Trustees - PRNewswire

Neuroscience

Neuroscience mindfulness lectures remind us to stay in the moment – The Signpost

WSUs Neuroscience Lecture Series explores mindfulness this fall, its effects on anxiety, addiction and overall health, timed to coincide with a season of numerous challenges of mental and emotional wellbeing.

Dr. Joel Skaria, a psychology and neuroscience professor, kicked off the lecture series on Sept. 16 on Zoom to address the importance of remaining mindful, or mentally and emotionally present, in times of stress or uncertainty. He spoke of his own experiences and how mindfulness practices helped him get through the period shortly after he graduated college before he was an established professional.

I was working through what I wanted to do, Skaria said. Processing these big, existential questions in that time of uncertainty. My thoughts were kind of leading me to catastrophic thoughts about the future and ruminating on past mistakes. Maybe I should have gone to law school or done this or that

Anxious thinking is a slippery slope, caused by mental time travel, or projecting ourselves into an unnerving vision of the future or into an embarrassing past memory. When we practice mindfulness, we have the ability to tell ourselves, regardless of what actions I could have taken or what is going to exist in the future, I have the ability to focus my attention on things that I think are important now, and I want to foster my ability of paying attention to the present moment, Skaria said.

The lecture series and the neuroscience program are supported by the college of health professions, science and social and behavioral science, which all relate to the wide-ranging studies in neuroscience. The program brings many different perspectives and disciplines together at Weber State.

Its one of the only true inter-college programs on campus, said Dr. Aminda OHare, director of the neuroscience program and the organizer of the lecture series. Dr. Jim Hutchins of the health professions department is another of the primary neuroscience faculty, approaching from a health and medicine perspective. Dr. Elizabeth Sandquist from the zoology department approaches with the interest of behavioral neuroscience. She uses zebra fish and stem cell models in order to better understand human neural activity by proxy.

Im what you would call a cognitive and effective neuroscientist, OHare said. My own research looks at mindfulness, meditation, how it can change your relationship to anxiety and attention. I study how our emotions impact our ability to think.

Dr. OHare is in her second year at Weber, after previously teaching at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and took over as director of the program in May. OHare will speak at her own lecture in the series on Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.

If you talk to any of my students, theyll tell you that I start my classes with mindfulness practices, OHare said.

OHare says that almost every college student is, to some degree, effected by anxiety, which can be combatted through mindfulness. None of us are going to have a stress-free life, but the goal is to help people build skills that can make us a bit more resilient, a bit more skillful at coping when life does get stressful, OHare said.

Also featured in the series is Dr. Judson Brewer, author of The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Cupcakes to Smartphones, the Mechanisms Underlying How Mindfulness Helps Change Habits and Overcome Addiction, who gave a TED Talk in 2016 on breaking bad habits. Dr. Brewers perspective seems to be an evolutionary one: certain behaviors that enabled our survival in the distant past are hard-wired in our brains and sometimes work against us in the lifestyle of modern humanity.

Through a recurring system of trigger, behavior and reward, Brewer said in the TED Talk, our behaviors are enforced regardless of whether they are healthy. He uses mindfulness practice to help people break out of addictive behavior, substance abuse and eating disorders. Mindfulness is just about being really interested in getting close and personal with whats actually happening in our bodies and minds from moment to moment. Dr. Brewer will present on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.

To close out the series, Jason Cowell, vice-chair of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, will present in November. Cowell is interested in neural processes of young children, especially related to empathy. He studies morality and how morality develops in children, using neuroscience as a tool to look at how their perception of morality changes over time, OHare said of Cowell.

His lecture will be via Zoom on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.

With all of these diverse and seemingly unrelated topics covered with neuroscience, it may be hard for someone on the outside to see who the neuroscience program is made for. I think its a great compliment to any field where understanding humans is really valuable, OHare said. It gives a really good backbone to any kind of human professions, be it medicine, social services, education. It is understanding the human condition at the level of mechanics, the actual hardware and software that we have going on.

All students who are interested are welcome to attend the lecture series by registering on the WSU website.

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Neuroscience mindfulness lectures remind us to stay in the moment - The Signpost

Neuroscience

Observation offers a better understanding of how neurons communicate with each other – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 29 2020

The dialogue between neurons is of critical importance for all nervous system activities, from breathing to sensing, thinking to running. Yet neuronal communication is so fast, and at such a small scale, that it is exceedingly difficult to explain precisely how it occurs.

A preliminary observation in the Neurobiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), enabled by a custom imaging system, has led to a clear understanding of how neurons communicate with each other by modulating the "tone" of their signal, which previously had eluded the field. The report, led by Grant F. Kusick and Shigeki Watanabe of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is published this week in Nature Neuroscience.

In 2016 Watanabe, then on the Neurobiology course faculty, introduced students to the debate over how many synaptic vesicles can fuse in response to one action potential. To probe this controversy, they used a "zap-and-freeze" imaging technology conceived by co-authors M. Wayne Davis, Watanabe and Erik Jorgensen, and built by Leica for testing in the Neurobiology course. They zapped a neuron with electricity to induce an action potential, then quickly froze the neuron and took an image. They saw multiple vesicles fusing at once at many synapses, the first novel finding of this Nature Neuroscience report.

But there was more. Back at Johns Hopkins, Kusick and Watanabe decided to walk through the neurotransmission process with zap-and-freeze, taking images every 3 milliseconds after the action potential. That's when they found an answer to an even larger question - how do neurons change the tone of their neurotransmission signal?

At any given time, only a few synaptic vesicles are in "docked" position, meaning loaded and ready to release neurotransmitter. Immediately after an action potential, the number of docked vesicles decreases by 40 percent, so after 2 to 3 action potentials, the docked vesicles would be depleted.

(That is, their signal or "voice" would become weaker and weaker, as more action potentials are induced.) But they found that, within 14 milliseconds following an action potential, new vesicles are swiftly recruited to the docked pool that can fuse and release neurotransmitter, and this recruitment is transient such that neurotransmission can be strong or weak on a millisecond time scale. This is the first close-up look at neural communication that adds up from a temporal perspective.

What this means is that we have identified a mechanism that neurons use to communicate through intonations. Each docked vesicle is like a word that neurons can use for communication at any given moment. It has been known for decades that neurons can speak more than a few words at a time, and they can also change the tone of these words. The question was how. We've shown that neurons continuously bring in more words, but by simply changing the number of vesicles, they can raise or lower the voice. If you are asking a question, you will raise the intonation at the end of a sentence - neurons do so by changing the number of docked vesicles ready to go."

Shigeki Watanabe, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The "zap and freeze" electron microscopy technology is the 21st-century version of the "freeze slammer" developed by John Heuser, Tom Reese et al., and used at MBL nearly 50 years ago to demonstrate how neurons communicate with each other.

Source:

Journal reference:

Kusick G. F., et al. (2020) Synaptic vesicles transiently dock to refill release sites. Nature Neuroscience. doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00716-1.

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Observation offers a better understanding of how neurons communicate with each other - News-Medical.Net

Neuroscience

How undergraduate research labs have made the transition to virtual research – The Vanderbilt Hustler

In compliance with both Vanderbilt and VUMC safety protocol, research labs across campus have been adapting to new guidelines, providing a different environment for undergraduate students working on research.

Truman McDaniel

The Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center supports the education, research and patient care mission of Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according to its website. (Hustler Multimedia/Truman McDaniel)

Tucker ApgarSeptember 29, 2020

With the transition to online classes and activities, research labs have transitioned to a virtual learning environment in compliance with Vanderbilts Return to Campus policies.

The research ramp-up team, formed with the efforts of staff and faculty across the ten undergraduate and graduate schools, implemented a four-phase policy for resuming research activities on and off campus. Currently, Vanderbilt is in Phase II+ for resuming research activity on campus where researchers can update their on-campus research protocol.

The research policy applies to all research activities, including arts and humanities, social sciences, engineering and natural sciences. Per the research website, in order to get involved with on-campus or off-campus research as an undergraduate, a Principle Investigator (PI) or mentor must fill out a form to receive approval from the appropriate supervisory entity.

Depending on the type of research, some students have been able to continue their work with minimal interference. Kaelon McNeece, a sophomore researching metabolic rate sensors, said that he has continued working on his project from his off-campus apartment. However, he noticed how other students in his research group Syburre were affected because their research was suited to a lab environment.

Most of my work has stayed pretty much the same and I have been given all the supplies I need, McNeence said. But there are other members whose work is an exclusively wet lab, dealing with biological specimens that cannot be taken home and need to be kept in a controlled environment. Some of these students wont be able to access their lab for a while so their work now consists of writing and reading papers.

In the neuroscience department, research is a necessary component of the learning environment curriculum where majors must complete two semesters of independent research. In response to the decrease in research opportunities, Elizabeth Catania, director of undergraduate research and independent studies in neuroscience, said that she has been coordinating with labs to ensure that students can still get the same opportunities.

In Phase II+, theres still not full capacity in the lab, Catania said. And for some labs they cant take in any more people, so that was something we were worried about. But I will say the neuroscience department has been very successful getting students into labs as our research numbers have remained similar to those in the past two years.

For labs like Research on Conflict and Collective Action Lab (ROCCA) , sophomore and lab assistant Chloe Hall stated that undergraduate students have taken advantage of the shift to virtual learning. Drake White, a junior also working in the ROCCA lab, commented on how the lab specifically used previous experience with online research before COVID-19.

This year has definitely been an adjustment, but the majority of ROCCAs research is conducted online through literature readings, accessing data and creating data from online sources, so the transition has been pretty smooth, White said.

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How undergraduate research labs have made the transition to virtual research - The Vanderbilt Hustler