Biomedical Ίδρυμα Ιατροβιολογικών Ερευνών, Ακαδημίας ΑθηνώνΑκαδημία Αθηνών
Επιστημονικά Επιτεύγματα :N-terminal domain mutations of the spike protein are structurally implicated in epitope recognition in emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains.

 

Theodoros Rampias, Apostolos Klinakis and Zoe Cournia recently published a study in Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal

During the past two years, the world has been ravaged by a global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Acquired mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome affecting virus infectivity and/or immunogenicity have led to a number of novel strains with higher transmissibility compared to the original Wuhan strain. Mutations in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have been extensively studied in this context. However, mutations and deletions within the N-terminal domain (NTD) located adjacent to the RBD are less studied. Here, we perform a structural and epidemiological study of novel strains carrying mutations and deletions within these loops. Our findings provide insight regarding the role of these mutations/deletions in altering the epitope structure and thus affecting the immunoreactivity of the spike protein.


N-terminal domain mutations of the spike protein are structurally implicated in epitope recognition in emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains.
Klinakis A, Cournia Z, Rampias T. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2021 Oct 4;19:5556-67. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.10.004. Online ahead of print. PMID: 34630935

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