Another way would be to make the spikes "stickier" for our cells. One way this could occur is through a mutation on a part of the spike protein that prevents protective antibodies from binding to it. But some may cause changes that give the new version of the virus a selective advantage by making it more transmissible or infectious. Most mutations will not be beneficial and either stop the spike protein from working or have no effect on its function. Encoded within the viral genome, the protein can mutate and changes its biochemical properties as the virus evolves. One of the most concerning features of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is how it moves or changes over time during the evolution of the virus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is changing over time. The spike protein is made up of different sections that perform different functions. Production of the spike inside our cells then starts the process of protective antibody and T cell production. Given how crucial the spike protein is to the virus, many antiviral vaccines or drugs are targeted to viral glycoproteins.įor SARS-CoV-2, the vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna give instructions to our immune system to make our own version of the spike protein, which happens shortly following immunization. The spike is also involved in other processes like assembly, structural stability and immune evasion. One of these functional units binds to a protein on the surface of our cells called ACE2, triggering uptake of the virus particle and eventually membrane fusion. There are estimated to be roughly 26 spike trimers per virus. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is stuck on the roughly spherical viral particle, embedded within the envelope and projecting out into space, ready to cling on to unsuspecting cells. Viruses must traverse this barrier to gain access to the cell. Due to the biochemical nature of fats, the outer surface is highly negatively charged and repellent. One of the major defenses cellular life has against invaders is its outer coating, which is composed of a fatty layer that holds in all the enzymes, proteins and DNA that make up a cell. Our cells have evolved to ward off such intrusions. Instead, they have to get inside cells in order to replicate, where they use the cell's own biochemical machinery to build new virus particles and spread to other cells or individuals. In the world of parasites, many bacterial or fungal pathogens can survive on their own without a host cell to infect. But what exactly is the spike protein and why is it so important? The spike protein is also the basis of current COVID-19 vaccines, which seek to generate an immune response against it. The new mutations may alter the biochemistry of the spike and could affect how transmissible the virus is. The new variant carries several peculiar changes to the spike protein when compared to other closely related variants-and that's one of the reasons why it's more concerning than other, harmless changes to the virus we have observed before.
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