Chang Gung Memorial Hospital yesterday said that it has collaborated with other institutes to isolate 22 new strains of SARS-CoV-2 and complete the full genome sequencing of the virus, which causes COVID-19.
A team of researchers has also found 25 strains of antibodies in beta-cells collected from three COVID-19 patients, said Huang Kuan-ying (黃冠穎), a doctor at the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the hospital’s Linkou branch.
The hospital found that a monoclonal antibody combined with the coronavirus’ spike protein could help inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and prevent the virus entering the body.
Photo courtesy of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
ACE2 is an enzyme attached to the membranes of lung, artery, heart, kidney and intestine cells, and is the main entry point for coronaviruses.
Chang Gung University Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections head Shih Shin-ru (施信如) said the antibody could be used to prevent the virus from replicating itself in the human body.
If the antibody proves effective in human trials, it could be used as a treatment for COVID-19 or used in prevention, she said.
The antibody, which originates from the human body, would be much safer to use than antibodies originating from animals, she added.
She suggested that the strains of antibodies be used in permutations for rapid test kits, as it would increase test kit sensitivity and specificity toward SARS-CoV-2.
The hospital also said that it would work with the team to develop a test kit and conduct human trials, adding that it would also reach out to the local pharmaceutical industry to help develop a treatment.
The hospital’s collaborators include Academia Sinica, the National Defense Medical Center’s Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and a team from the University of Oxford.
ZERO TOLERANCE: National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin said that he ordered Kaohsiung police to investigate reports of planned voter intimidation Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) yesterday denounced the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for asking people not to vote in a recall poll against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), while National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) called on police to follow up on reports that gangsters are planning to intimidate voters. Yen said that in an effort to save Han, the KMT has mobilized all of its members, who have increasingly tried to prevent Kaohsiung residents from exercising their right to vote in the poll on Saturday next week. She called on Kaohsiung residents to have the courage
Taipei is to reopen public facilities starting on Monday next week under three conditions, and allow indoor and outdoor events with fewer than 250 and 1,000 people respectively, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday. The three conditions are practicing social distancing measures or wearing a mask if the proper distance cannot be kept, enforcing a real-name registration system for indoor activities and prohibiting meal sharing, Huang said. All municipal facilities would resume operations under those principles, with the exception of school campuses, she said. School campuses at high-school level and below would remain closed to the public to protect student health, but
RELAXING CONTROLS: As the nation has sufficiently ramped up mask production, sales would be allowed to resume and a limit on sending masks is to be lifted A “new disease prevention lifestyle” is mainly being promoted as part of preparations for the loosening of border controls, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, as the nation marked the 45th day of no local COVID-19 infections. A total of 419 patients have been released from isolation after treatment, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). A group of 96 Taiwanese who had been stranded in Russia due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday returned to Taiwan, nine of whom reported suspected symptoms after arrival: two with diarrhea and seven with respiratory symptoms, including one
‘CHINESE CAPITAL’: Fanny Liu was found guilty of reducing the rent of a tenant in exchange for a vote for a KMT Taipei city councilor candidate The Taipei District Court on Wednesday sentenced Fanny Liu (劉樂妍), a former member of the now-disbanded female pop group Fantasy 4, to 10 years in prison for vote-buying. The court found Liu — who is now based in China and has made pro-Chinese Communist Party remarks — guilty of reducing the rent on a Taipei property she owned in exchange for the tenant voting for a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate in the November 2018 nine-in-one local elections. She can appeal the ruling. Liu in December 2018 reportedly lowered the rent by NT$1,000 after the tenant said they had voted for Taipei City
RSS