Study Identifies Seven New Covid-19 Variants in U.S. Carrying ‘677’ Mutation
New article in Forbes today about mutations discovered in the US.
Link to article here.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/20...aadb4c73f2
Link to preprint below.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021....21251658v1
Is it just a matter of time before some highly transmissible and/or deadly variant/mutation becomes prevalent which vaccines can't protect us against? I think the posters who discussed the possible long-term need for Leronlimab for Covid are on the right track.
Excerpts from Forbes below.
Just when you’ve heard so much about the 3 main variants in the news cycle—the U.K. Variant (B.1.1.7), the South African variant (B.1.3.5.1) and the South American variant (P.1 variant), and at least one mutation—E484K— that has been implicated in the South African and now the U.K. variant, along comes a new “homegrown” mutation right here in the U.S. known as “677”, or Q677P more formally, recently identified by researchers in the U.S.
It is unclear whether this mutation, now identified in seven lineages or variants of Covid-19, makes it more transmissible. But there is growing concern that this potential may exist.
The scientists had already been reviewing genomic sequences in a repository known as GISAID, a worldwide database use to exchange and share genetic sequences regarding Covid-19, but the revelation of the new seven lineages or variants became apparent in late January when 2 independent SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programs—the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and Louisiana State University Health Sciences in Shreveport—both detected increasing numbers of viruses with the Q677P mutation, with a significant increase in samples from late 2020 through mid January.
One question is whether the 677 mutation will have any impact on available vaccines’ ability to prevent “immune escape” from neutralizing antibodies related to the mutations contained in these evolving variants. We do know that researchers have observed that the virus is attempting to evolve in order to increase potential for transmission and ultimately to survive.
But whether a single mutation, the 677 in this case, has the ability to enable escape from neutralizing antibodies or even increase transmission by mechanisms such increased ease of cell entry via the ACE2 receptor remains unclear, with some suspicion that there may still be potential. That said, one expert makes the case it may be less likely.
“There’s not enough information about this mutation [677] available, but in general, it’s not the case that a single mutation produces immune evasion,” said Amesh Adalja, MD, an Infectious disease physician, and Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. And, in relation to other identified Covid-19 mutations for reference, “484 [E484K] doesn’t occur in isolation,” he added.
However, one co-author of the pre-print, Vaughn Cooper, told CNN that the location of the mutation in the anchoring region of the spike protein was in a problematic location. “The stretch of Spike is important because of its proximity to a region key for virulence. We actually think these mutations are relatively rare (compared to other types of mutations), but they are disproportionately selected when they occur.”
Dr Jeremy Kamil, senior author of the study, told the New York Times, “ I think there’s a clear signature of an evolutionary benefit.” And, in this case, Kamil was making reference to the process of convergent evolution coming into play—something that ultimately enhances the ability of any organism to survive.
New article in Forbes today about mutations discovered in the US.
Link to article here.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/20...aadb4c73f2
Link to preprint below.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021....21251658v1
Is it just a matter of time before some highly transmissible and/or deadly variant/mutation becomes prevalent which vaccines can't protect us against? I think the posters who discussed the possible long-term need for Leronlimab for Covid are on the right track.
Excerpts from Forbes below.
Just when you’ve heard so much about the 3 main variants in the news cycle—the U.K. Variant (B.1.1.7), the South African variant (B.1.3.5.1) and the South American variant (P.1 variant), and at least one mutation—E484K— that has been implicated in the South African and now the U.K. variant, along comes a new “homegrown” mutation right here in the U.S. known as “677”, or Q677P more formally, recently identified by researchers in the U.S.
It is unclear whether this mutation, now identified in seven lineages or variants of Covid-19, makes it more transmissible. But there is growing concern that this potential may exist.
The scientists had already been reviewing genomic sequences in a repository known as GISAID, a worldwide database use to exchange and share genetic sequences regarding Covid-19, but the revelation of the new seven lineages or variants became apparent in late January when 2 independent SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programs—the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and Louisiana State University Health Sciences in Shreveport—both detected increasing numbers of viruses with the Q677P mutation, with a significant increase in samples from late 2020 through mid January.
One question is whether the 677 mutation will have any impact on available vaccines’ ability to prevent “immune escape” from neutralizing antibodies related to the mutations contained in these evolving variants. We do know that researchers have observed that the virus is attempting to evolve in order to increase potential for transmission and ultimately to survive.
But whether a single mutation, the 677 in this case, has the ability to enable escape from neutralizing antibodies or even increase transmission by mechanisms such increased ease of cell entry via the ACE2 receptor remains unclear, with some suspicion that there may still be potential. That said, one expert makes the case it may be less likely.
“There’s not enough information about this mutation [677] available, but in general, it’s not the case that a single mutation produces immune evasion,” said Amesh Adalja, MD, an Infectious disease physician, and Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. And, in relation to other identified Covid-19 mutations for reference, “484 [E484K] doesn’t occur in isolation,” he added.
However, one co-author of the pre-print, Vaughn Cooper, told CNN that the location of the mutation in the anchoring region of the spike protein was in a problematic location. “The stretch of Spike is important because of its proximity to a region key for virulence. We actually think these mutations are relatively rare (compared to other types of mutations), but they are disproportionately selected when they occur.”
Dr Jeremy Kamil, senior author of the study, told the New York Times, “ I think there’s a clear signature of an evolutionary benefit.” And, in this case, Kamil was making reference to the process of convergent evolution coming into play—something that ultimately enhances the ability of any organism to survive.
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