Saturday, August 13, 2022
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Infectious Emerging Diseases

SARS-CoV-2 spike mutation L452R evades human immune response and enhances infectivity

July 20, 2021
in Infectious Emerging Diseases
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

IMAGE

Credit: Dr. Chihiro Motozono

An international team of researchers led by Kumamoto and Tokyo Universities (Japan) have shown that the L452R mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is common to two mutant strains (Epsilon and Delta), is involved in cellular immunity evasion via the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) A24, and enhances viral infectivity. HLA-A24 is one of the most prominent HLA-class I alleles, especially in East/Southeast Asian populations, which might make them particularly vulnerable to coronavirus variants with this mutation.

The ongoing novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) pandemic has, as of June 2021, infected over 150 million and killed over 3.5 million people worldwide. Vaccination drives around the world are currently underway, but there are still many unknowns, including the principles of infection pathogenesis, the principles viral replication, and the relationship between immune evasion and epidemic dynamics.

Acquired immunity can be broadly classified into humoral immunity mediated by neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity mediated by helper and killer T cells. SARS-CoV-2 “variants of concern”, such as the Alpha and Beta variants, have been studied worldwide for the possibility of humoral immunity evasion. However, cellular immunity evasion has not been reported.

In this study, the research group first used immunological experiments to demonstrate that an antigen derived from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is strongly recognized by HLA-A24-restricted cellular immunity, which is often found in Japanese people. They then performed a large-scale (>750,000) sequence analysis of SARS-CoV-2 strains and found several important mutations in the spike protein region typically recognized by HLA-A24. These are the Y453F spike mutations found in strain B.1.1.298, which was prevalent in Denmark in 2020, and the L452R mutation in B.1.427/429 and B.1.617 (commonly known as the Epsilon and Delta variants respectively) that are currently spreading around the world. Further immunological experiments demonstrated that these mutations escape HLA-A24 cellular immunity. The researchers believe that this is the first time a “variant of concern” has been demonstrated to evade cellular immunity.

The Y453F and L452R mutations were located in the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which are crucial for gaining entry into host cells. Researchers thus examined the effects of these mutations on the infection and replication efficiency of the virus. They found that the L452R mutation enhances its membrane fusion activity, infectivity, and viral replication.

“The L452R mutation is a hallmark of the Delta variant that is currently spreading worldwide, and in Japan, about 60% of the population have HLA-A24, which is responsible for cellular immunity. The L452R mutation not only evades the HLA-A24 cellular immunity but can also enhance the infectivity of the virus,” said the leader of immunology in the study, Dr. Chihiro Motozono.” We have been carefully investigating the immune response against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in real time to monitor how the mutations affect human immunity and viral infectivity.”

###

This research was posted in Cell Host & Microbe on 14 June 2021.

Source: Motozono, C., Toyoda, M., Zahradnik, J., Saito, A., Nasser, H., Tan, T. S., … Sato, K. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 spike L452R variant evades cellular immunity and increases infectivity. Cell Host & Microbe. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2021.06.006

Media Contact
J. Sanderson & N. Fukuda
[email protected]

Original Source

https://ewww.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/en/news/471/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2021.06.006

Tags: BiochemistryCell BiologyImmunology/Allergies/AsthmaInfectious/Emerging DiseasesMedicine/HealthPhysiologyVaccinesVirology
Share26Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • Amanda Poholek, Ph.D.

    Reinvigorating ‘lost cause’ exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapy

    122 shares
    Share 49 Tweet 31
  • A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Researchers fabricate cobalt copper catalysts for methane on metal-organic framework Contributes to goal of methane production from carbon dioxide emissions

    67 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • New insights on how some individuals with obesity can lose weight – and keep it off

    66 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 17
  • Brightest stars in the night sky can strip Neptune-sized planets to their rocky cores

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • The North American Menopause Society releases its 2022 Hormone Therapy Position Statement

    145 shares
    Share 58 Tweet 36
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Reinvigorating ‘lost cause’ exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapy

Experts optimistic about converting coal plants to production of clean geothermal energy

A role for cell ‘antennae’ in managing dopamine signals in the brain

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 193 other subscribers

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In