Mu Variant Used to Make COVID Vaccines

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Mu variant (B.1.621, B.1.621.1) has been tagged as a Variant Being Monitored (VBM), and as of August 30, 2021, it had been detected in 39 countries.

Colombia was identified as the epicenter of SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by the Mu variant. A huge surge of COVID-19 cases was reported in Columbia between March and July 2021, and SARS-CoV-2  infections caused by the gamma variant were found to be prevalent during the early stages of the surge. However, by May, the infections due to the Mu variant became dominant in Columbia.

Reports from WHO suggest that the Mu variant bears mutations that increase the risk of resistance to currently available vaccines and that further investigations are required in this area. The Mu variant is still not considered as a variant of concern by WHO.

Emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 are concerning. They need to be monitored carefully as they show increased transmissibility, pathogenicity, and have a high risk of resistance to the immune response compared to the original strains.

The scientists in the present study have shown that the Mu variant is resistant to neutralizing antibodies in the sera of COVID-19 convalescents and vaccinated individuals. Further, the sera from Mu-infected individuals showed broad-spectrum antiviral activity.

The sequence of the Mu variant can be utilized to develop vaccines that exhibit broad-spectrum antiviral activity against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and its variants.

Further, research in this area is required to generate Mu variant-based novel vaccine candidates that can provide effective prophylactic therapy for COVID-19.

Source: https://www.tridhascholars.org/press-release/Mu-variant-used-to-make-covid-vaccines.php

Follow us at Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tridha-scholars

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Increased TMPRSS2 Expression in Tongue Tissue of Females and Alcohol Drinkers

A Potential Risk Factor for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified as Increased TMPRSS2 Expression in Tongue Tissue of Females and Alcohol Drinkers In the present study, the researchers used immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry techniques to determine ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 expression in the human and murine tongue tissue. Tongue,  submandibular glands , and kidneys were acquired from euthanized five-week-old male mice. Half the tissues were fixed in phosphate-buffered formalin for immunohistochemical and histological analysis, while the other half was frozen at -80 °C for the immunoblot assay. With informed consent, human tongue samples were acquired from patients with primary tongue cancer who underwent surgery. The non-tumorous regions of the tongue were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin for the  immunohistochemical tests . Three fresh human tongue samples were used for the immunoblot analysis. Paraffin-fixed tissues were sectioned and mounted on glass slides. Immunostaining wa
Read more

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Nasopharyngeal Microbiota

C anadian researchers investigated how  severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2  (SARS-CoV-2) infection altered the microbiota composition of the host’s nasopharyngeal region. The risk and clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection vary widely among individuals. However, the mechanisms underlying these differences in  coronavirus disease 2019  (COVID-19) progression and pathogenesis remain unclear. Studies have shown that the mucosal microbiome influences host toll-like receptor (TLR) expression, which is involved in virus detection. Studies have also shown the prevalence of bacterial co-infections in COVID-19 patients at 6.9%. Likewise, elevated nasal cytokines have been implicated in adverse clinical outcomes in influenza patients. Therefore, exploring upper respiratory tract microbiota compositional changes following SARS-CoV-2 infection could help evaluate its impact on  infection  severity. Overall, the study results presented a granular picture of the microbiota difference
Read more

SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Human Proteins

T he emergence and rapid outbreak of a novel coronavirus, namely,   severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2   (SARS-CoV-2) in China in 2019, caused a global pandemic, which is popularly known as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). Some of the common symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever, loss of taste/smell, and shortness of breath. Additionally, many individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 remain asymptomatic. However, some  COVID-19 patients  experience more severe complications including thrombosis, myocarditis, and thrombocytopenia. Scientists identified molecular mimicry hotspots in the S region. They revealed the presence of molecular mimics with a high autoimmune potential in clusters within the S protein of SARS-CoV-2. Researchers observed that some clusters contained many molecular mimics whose motifs are found in human proteins.  Molecular mimics  present in the α-helices exhibited higher structural similarity based on the normal conformation of the hel
Read more