Scientists are to increase surveillance for new coronavirus mutations amid concerns that future strains of the virus could develop at least partial resistance to antibody treatments and Covid-19 vaccines.
There is no evidence that the mutations seen so far could help the virus evade vaccines or treatments now in development, but genetic analysis of circulating strains suggests that partially-resistant variants can emerge and spread among humans.
In a paper drawn up for the government’s Sage committee of experts, the UK Covid genomics consortium (Cog-UK) reports that a number of mutations have cropped up in the crucial “spike” protein which covers the virus like pins in a pin cushion and allows the pathogen to invade human cells.
Because many vaccines use the spike protein to generate immunity against the virus, mutations that subsequently change the spike can affect how well that immunity works.
“Anything that affects the spike protein can potentially change how either natural immunity or vaccine-induced immunity responds to the virus,” said Jeffrey Barrett, a geneticist and member of the consortium at the Sanger Institute near Cambridge.
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is genetically fairly stable, but it still acquires mutations, creating a multitude of lineages that geneticists can use to track the virus around the world and from outbreak to outbreak. By chance, some lineages will pick up mutations in the spike protein, a process called “antigenic change”. Many of these are likely to make the virus worse at spreading, but others may be neutral or even improve the virus’s ability to infect.
The potential risk comes if the virus accumulates mutations in the spike protein that change it enough for antibody treatments and vaccines to lose their potency. This could be most problematic for so-called monoclonal antibody treatments, of the type given to Donald Trump, where patients are infused with a mixture of two different types of antibodies. Vaccines tend to induce a greater variety of antibodies, so even if some are ineffective, the rest should still target the virus.
Image Credit: Phil Noble/Reuters
Post by Amanda Scott, NA CEO. Follow her on twitter @tantriclens
Thanks to Heinz V. Hoenen. Follow him on twitter: @HeinzVHoenen
News
A Promising New Pathway in the Battle Against Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Neuronal Molecule Makes Prostate Cancer More Aggressive Researchers discover a potential therapeutic avenue against an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the second leading cause of [...]
Nasal Vaccines: Stopping the COVID-19 Virus Before It Reaches the Lungs
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines have played a large role in preventing deaths and severe infections from COVID-19. But researchers are still in the process of developing alternative approaches to vaccines to improve [...]
NASA Tracking a Huge, Growing Anomaly in Earth’s Magnetic Field – with video
NASA is actively monitoring a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa. This vast, developing [...]
New, Better Models Show How Infectious Diseases Like COVID-19 Spread
Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 can spread rapidly across the globe. Models that can predict how such diseases spread will strengthen national surveillance systems and improve public health decision-making. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the [...]
Human Antibodies Discovered That Can Block Multiple Coronaviruses Including COVID-19
Results from a Scripps Research and UNC team pave the way for a vaccine and therapeutic antibodies that could be stockpiled to fight future coronavirus pandemics. A team of scientists from Scripps Research and [...]
Nanotechnology could be used to treat lymphedema
The human body is made up of thousands of tiny lymphatic vessels that ferry white blood cells and proteins around the body, like a superhighway of the immune system. It's remarkably efficient, but if [...]
DNA Nanotechnology Tools – From Design to Applications
Suite of DNA nanotechnology devices engineered to overcome specific bottlenecks in the development of new therapies, diagnostics, and understanding of molecular structures. DNA nanostructures with their potential for cell and tissue permeability, biocompatibility, and [...]
Regenerating bone with deer antler stem cells
Scientists from a collection of Chinese research institutions collaborated on a study of organ regeneration in mammals, finding deer antler blastema progenitor cells are a possible source of conserved regeneration cells in higher vertebrates. [...]
AI Takes On Cancer: Analysis of Mutations Could Lead to Improved Therapy
Cancer is a complex and diverse disease, and its range of associated mutations is vast. The combination of these genomic changes in an individual is referred to as their “mutational landscape.” These landscapes vary [...]
Exposing tumours to bacteria converts immune cells to cancer killers
New research on inflammation could lead to better treatments to improve outcomes for people with advanced or previously untreatable cancers. Introducing bacteria to a tumour’s microenvironment creates a state of acute inflammation that triggers [...]
Smart nanotechnology for more accurate delivery of insulin
More efficient and longer lasting glucose-responsive insulin that eliminates the need for people with type 1 diabetes to measure their glucose levels could be a step closer thanks to a Monash University-led project. Published [...]
Efficiently Harvesting Rare Earth Elements From Wastewater Using Exotic Bacteria
The novel strains of cyanobacteria exhibit a fast and efficient “biosorption” of rare earth elements, making recycling possible. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a set of 17 metallic elements that possess similar chemical properties. [...]
Resisting Treatment: Cancer Cells Shrink or Super-Size To Survive
A new approach to image analysis has uncovered how cancer cells manipulate their size as a means of resisting treatment. Researchers have discovered that cancer cells are capable of either shrinking or super-size themselves [...]
New Research Explains Why Children Avoid Severe COVID-19 Symptoms
According to new research, children exhibit a robust initial immune response to the coronavirus, however, they are unable to transfer this response to long-lasting memory T cells like adults do. Researchers led by scientists [...]
Scientists Unravel Protein Map of Mitochondria
A new study sheds light on the organization of proteins within mitochondria. Mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of cells, play a crucial role in the energy production of organisms and are involved in various metabolic and [...]
Mystifying Trapping Phenomenon: A Surprising Way To Catch a Microparticle
New insights could advance microfluidics and drug delivery systems. New study finds obstacles can trap rolling microparticles in fluid Through simulations and experiments, physicists attribute the trapping effect to stagnant pockets of fluid, created [...]
