Filenews 19 January 2021
As there is international concern about the rapidly transmitted new strains of coronavirus in Great Britain and South Africa, many research efforts are under way to investigate the reasons for the rapid transmission of new strains and their possible effect on the effectiveness of both the vaccine and natural idyria following COVID-19 disease.
The Doctors of the Therapeutic Clinic of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Theodora Psaltopoulou, Ioannis Danasis, Maria Gavriatopoulou and Thanos Dimopoulos (Rector of ekpa) summarize the data of a related publication in the journal Nature (Vol. 589, 14 January 2021).
Gene analyses of particulate matter isolated from COVID-19 patients highlighted strain B.1.1.7 as the cause of an influx of cases in the South East of England and London in late November and early December 2020. Subsequently, this strain was identified by an independent research study in other countries of the world. During the same period, the 501Y strain was detected. V2 as the main responsible for the outbreak in South Africa. Strain B.1.1.7 carries many mutations, 8 of which relate to the protein spike S of SARS-CoV-2, while there are reports that the strain 501Y. V2 may have up to 9 mutations involving protein S. Both strains carry mutations involving areas of protein S that are identified by neutralizing antibodies and antibodies created either after natural infection or after vaccination.
Research efforts focus on creating cellular and animal models that are affected by the new strains of SARS-CoV-2 and then testing the effectiveness of monoclosic antibodies against the virus. Pre-published by Xie and colleagues (bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.07.425740 (2021)) indicates that a specific mutation detected in both new strains of the virus does not affect the effectiveness of antibodies produced by people vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine. In another pre-publication (https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.28.424451 (2020)) researchers multiplied sars-CoV-2 virus particles in the presence of low plasma levels from a human being. Within 90 days, the virus had developed three mutations that allowed it to escape immune surveillance.
All mutations have also been detected in new strains from the UK and South Africa, while the E484K mutation involving the S protein connection area in the connector in human cells is considered more important. Another important question is which mutation is responsible for the speed of spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 strains. The N501Y mutation is detected in both new strains of SARS-CoV-2 and leads to a protein change at the point of binding of the S protein to the ACE2 receptor in human cells in order to enhance the binding power. Of course, other researchers argue that the increase in communicability may not be due to an individual mutation, but more likely due to a combination of mutations. Overall, researchers remain optimistic that existing vaccines will remain effective because they cause a strong immune response against many SARS-CoV-2 antigenic epitopes and protect against severe and potentially fatal disease.
Source: protothema.gr
