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People with Covid-19 could have different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus hidden from the immune system in different parts of the body, according to new research published in
«Nature Communications» by an international research team. In other words, according to the authors, this can make the complete elimination of the virus from the body of an infected person, by their own antibodies or by antibody treatments, much more difficult.
In the article, which comprises two studies published in parallel in the much more difficult “Nature Communications,” the international team led by Imre Bergerfrom
University of Bristol (UK)and Joachim Spatzfrom high school
Max Planck Center for Medical Research in Heidelberg (Germany)both directors of
Bristol Max Planck Center for Minimal Biology
show how the virus can clearly evolve in different cell types and adapt the immunity of the same infected host.
The team has analyzed the role of a mechanism present in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the virus infection cycle and which plays an essential role in viral infectivity.
Since the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, an incessant series of variants have appeared and have completely replaced the original virus, such as Omicron and Omicron 2 dominating throughout the world. Berger explains that his team analyzed the early variant discovered in Bristol, BrisDelta “and found that it had changed its form from the original virus, but the mechanism that we had discovered was there, unchanged.”
Interestingly, BrisDelta shows up as a small subpopulation in samples taken from patients, but appears to infect certain cell types better than the virus that dominated the first wave of infections.
“Our results showed that one can have several different virus variants in the body. And some of these variants may use kidney or spleen cells as their niche to hide in, while the body is busy defending itself against the dominant type of virus. This could make it difficult for infected patients to get rid of SARS-CoV-2 completely.” Kapil Guptalead author of the study BrisDelta.
The team made synthetic virions of SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory, which mimic the virus but have the great advantage that they are safe, since they do not multiply in human cells.
using these artificial virions, were able to study the role of this mechanism in viral infection. Thus, they demonstrated that after the binding of a fatty acid, the spike protein that decorated the virions changed shape. This ‘shape’ changing mechanism effectively hides the virus from the immune system.
By ‘reducing’ the spike protein by binding to inflammatory fatty acids, he explains Oskar Staufer, lead author of this study, “the virus becomes less visible to the immune system. This could be a mechanism to avoid host detection and a strong immune response for a longer period of time and increase the overall efficiency of infection.”
Berger adds that it seems that this mechanism, built specifically to recognize these fatty acids, “gives SARS-CoV-2 an advantage within the body of infected people, which lets multiply so fast. This could explain why it is there, in all variants, even Omicron.”
Interestingly, he adds, “the same feature also gives us a unique opportunity to defeat the virus, exactly because it is highly conserved, with a custom-made antiviral molecule that blocks the pocket.”
Halo Therapeuticsa recent spin-out of the
University of Bristol founded by the authors, pursues exactly this approach to develop pocket-binding pan-coronavirus antivirals.