Binding of Natural Antibodies Generated after COVID-19 and Vaccination with Individual Peptides Corresponding to the SARS-CoV-2 S-Protein

The rapid development of vaccines is a crucial objective in modern biotechnology and molecular pharmacology. In this context, conducting research to expedite the selection of a potent immunogen is imperative. The candidate vaccine should induce the production of antibodies that can recognize the immunogenic epitopes of the target protein, resembling the ones found in recovered patients. One major challenge in vaccine development is the absence of straightforward and reliable techniques to determine the extent to which the spectrum of antibodies produced after vaccination corresponds to antibodies found after recovery. This paper describes a newly developed method to detect antibodies specific to immunogenic epitopes of the target protein in blood plasma and to compare them with antibody spectra generated post vaccination. Comparing the antibody pool generated in the human body after recovering from an infectious disease with the pool formed through vaccination can become a universal method for screening candidate vaccines. This method will enable the identification of candidate vaccines that can induce the production of antibodies similar to those generated in response to a natural infection. Implementing this approach will facilitate the rapid development of new vaccines, even when faced with a pandemic.

Plants with genetically encoded autoluminescence

Autoluminescent plants engineered to express a bacterial bioluminescence gene cluster in plastids have not been widely adopted because of low light output. We engineered tobacco plants with a fungal bioluminescence system that converts caffeic acid (present in all plants) into luciferin and report self-sustained luminescence that is visible to the naked eye. Our findings could underpin development of a suite of imaging tools for plants.

Author Correction: Plants with genetically encoded autoluminescence

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

[Experimental study of optical characteristics of homogeneous highly-dispersive biological medium]

Specific features of the process of short laser pulse propagation through a highly-dispersive biological medium are considered. Two models are used for the theoretical description of propagation of optical radiation through a highly-dispersive medium: diffusion approximation and non-stationary axial model. Physical characteristics of the dispersive medium are determined in both models. The obtained theoretical dependences are found to be in qualitative agreement with the results of experimental study.