Cyagen Biosciences

At present, the prevention and treatment of coronavirus is the most urgent issue for scientific and medical research. In addition to the ACE2 host receptor target that is being highly focused on, what other targets deserve the attention of current coronavirus researchers? Herein, experts from Cyagen investigate the lesser-known targets that are pertinent to coronavirus research, aiming to provide some helpful references to guide scientific researchers. 1. DPP4 Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP4) belongs to the family of proline-specific serine proteases and is capable of cleaving dipeptides from the amino terminal (N-terminal). DPP4 is the most typical peptidase in this family, and it is also the third exo-peptidase that was found to be a coronavirus receptor (after ACE2 and APN). DPP4 is a multifunctional type II transmembrane glycoprotein with 766 amino acids; it exists as a homodimer on the cell surface. The dimerization of peptidase depends on the molecules’ connection between...

With the rapid advancement of biomedical technology in recent years, customized treatment methods such as targeted medicine, immunotherapy, and gene therapy have become the main directions of biomedical innovation - which is intimately related to the development of gene-editing technology. From the ongoing CRISPR patent battles, to the approval of the FDA on the clinical trial of human gene editing by Editas, the continued development of gene-editing technology is highly anticipated. Modern animal model gene-editing technology can be divided into two main categories: embryonic stem cell (ESC) targeting and CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology. Custom genetic model types include transgenic, knockout (KO), conditional knockin (cKI), humanization, and point mutations. Given the unique advantages offered between CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing or ESC mediated gene targeting, which is the optimal solution? How can you...