Coronavirus study: more resistant peak protein behind the faster spread of variants

Coronavirus study: more resistant peak protein behind the faster spread of variants

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A more resistant peak protein may be the key to the ability of the new variants of COVID-19 to spread faster than the original strain, according to a new study.

Led by prof. Bing Chen, professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, the study examined changes in the spike proteins belonging to the D614G mutation, which is what is done by the variants in Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

All of these variants are known to spread more easily compared to the original strain.

According to these findings, which were published in the academic journal Science, the protein peak of the original strain occasionally collapsed on itself before it could properly bind to a human host’s ACE2 receptors, meaning that it would not fuse properly with the cells. But this problem appears to have been corrected in variants carrying the D614G mutation. However, these peaks are also not linked as well as the original variant.

“Let’s say the original virus has 100 spikes,” explained Chen in a press release. “Because of the instability of the shape, you can only have 50 percent of them functional. In the G614 variants, you can have 90% that are functional, so even though they don’t connect as well, the chances are greater that you will get infection . “

When news of the variants emerged, many expressed concern that existing COVID-19 vaccines would not be able to provide protection against it. However, Chen and his team say this should not be a concern, as any peak-based vaccine – and the vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are all peak-based – are more likely to immunize against the virus.

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