SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spike mediated immune escape, infectivity and cell-cell fusion

Publication: bioRxiv

Bo Meng, Isabella A.T.M Ferreira, Adam Abdullahi, Steven A. Kemp, Niluka Goonawardane, Guido Papa, Saman Fatihi, Oscar J. Charles, Dami A. Collier, CITIID-NIHR BioResource COVID-19 Collaboration, The Genotype to Phenotype Japan (G2P-Japan) Consortium, Jinwook Choi, Joo Hyeon Lee, Petra Mlcochova, Leo James, Rainer Doffinger, Lipi Thukral, Kei Sato,  View ORCID ProfileRavindra K. Gupta

21 December 2021


Summary

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates and spreads, errors in its genetic code can lead to changes in the virus. Working in secure conditions, researchers created synthetic viruses – known as ‘pseudoviruses’ – that carried key mutations found in the Delta and Omicron strains. They used these to study the virus’s behaviour.

They tested the pseudoviruses against blood samples donated to the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource. The blood samples were from vaccinated individuals who had received two doses of either the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx-1) or Pfizer (BNT162b2) vaccines. Read the full story.

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Characterization of disease course and remission in early seropositive rheumatoid arthritis: results from the TACERA longitudinal cohort study

Publication: Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease

Michael Barnes, Sarah Brockbank, Ian N Bruce, Coziana Ciurtin, Andrew P. Cop, Michael R. Ehrenstein, Paul Emery, Benjamin A. Fisher, John Isaacs, Ruth Matthews, Iain B. McInnes, Hayley Noble, Ayako Wakatsuki Pedersen, Costantino Pitzalis, Karim Raza, Anthony Rowe, Gemma Simpson, Dominic Stringer, Peter C. Taylor, Brian Tom, Yujie Zhong

21 October 2021


Summary
Researchers carried out a longitudinal observational study of newly diagnosed, seropositive rheumatoid arthritis patients from 28 UK centres. Every 3 months over a total of 18 months, clinical and laboratory measures were collected. To understand the progression of the disease it was measured against the 28-joint Disease Activity Score with C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) and Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI). Researchers found that collecting biological markers early after diagnosis could help manage the disease.

Challenges and opportunities for conducting a vaccine trial during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

Publication: Clinical Trials

Estée Török, Benjamin R Underwood, Mark Toshner, Claire Waddington, Emad Sidhom, Katherine Sharrocks, Rachel Bousfield, Charlotte Summers, Caroline Saunders, Zoe McIntyre, Helen Morris, Jo Piper, Gloria Calderon, Sarah Dennis, Tracy Assari, Anita Marguerie de Rotrou, Ashley Shaw, John Bradley, John O’Brien, Robert C Rintoul, Ian Smith, Ed Bullmore, Krishna Chatterjee

22 June 2021


Summary

Researchers describe their experience of rapidly setting up and delivering a novel COVID-19 vaccine trial, using clinical and research staff and facilities in three National Health Service Trusts in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.

Researchers encountered and overcame a number of challenges including differences in organisational structures, research facilities available, staff experience and skills, information technology and communications infrastructure, and research training and assessment procedures. These were overcome by setting up a project team that included key members from all three organisations that met at least daily by teleconference.

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Recurrent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion H69/V70 and its role in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7

Publication: Cell Reports

Bo Meng, Steven A. Kemp, Guido Papa, Rawlings Datir, Isabella A.T.M. Ferreira, Sara Marelli, William T. Harvey, Spyros Lytras, Ahmed Mohamed, Giulia Gallo, Nazia Thakur, Dami A. Collier, Petra Mlcochova

29 June 2021


One of the key mutations seen in the ‘Alpha variant’ of SARS-CoV-2 – the deletion of two amino acids, H69/V70 – enables the virus to overcome chinks in its armour as it evolves, say an international team of scientists.

SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus, so named because spike proteins on its surface give it the appearance of a crown (‘corona’). The spike proteins bind to ACE2, a protein receptor found on the surface of cells in our body. Both the spike protein and ACE2 are then cleaved, allowing genetic material from the virus to enter the host cell. The virus manipulates the host cell’s machinery to allow the virus to replicate and spread.

As SARS-CoV-2 divides and replicates, errors in its genetic makeup cause it to mutate. Some mutations make the virus more transmissible or more infectious, some help it evade the immune response, potentially making vaccines less effective, while others have little effect.

Towards the end of 2020, Cambridge scientists observed SARS-CoV-2 mutating in the case of an immunocompromised patient treated with convalescent plasma. In particular, they saw the emergence of a key mutation – the deletion of two amino acids, H69/V70, in the spike protein. This deletion was later found in B1.1.7, the variant that led to the UK being forced once again into strict lockdown in December (now referred to as the ‘Alpha variant’).

Researchers led by scientists at the University of Cambridge show that the deletion H69/V70 is present in more than 600,000 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences worldwide, and has seen global expansion, particularly across much of Europe, Africa and Asia.

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Observations on the ex situ perfusion of livers for transplantation. Am J Transplant.

Publication: American Journal of Transplantation

Watson CJE, Kosmoliaptsis V, Pley C, Randle L, Fear C, Crick K, et al.

8 February 2018

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