COVIDvaccine – BioQuakes

New COVID-19 Vaccine

On December 5, 2023

Did you know that different variants of COVID-19 can have SUB variants as well? Because the Omicron variant is now the world’s most prevalent strain, it has been able to mutate into different sub variants. The XBB sub variants stood out because they contain a high number of genetic mutations compared to other variants. These mutations or changes help the virus avoid the body’s immune response even if one has been vaccinated for COVID-19 already. Specifically the XBB. 1.5 sub variant (also known as Kraken) has a mutation that helps the virus bind to cells making it more contagious. Scientists believe that XBB. 1.5 binds “more tightly to cells in the human body that the predecessors” (Andrea Garcia). This was the dominant strain in June 2023.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine is now being recommended by the CDC and has been approved by the FDA as of this September. It is a monovalent or single component version that specifically targets this sub variant of Omicron (XBB. 1.5). This vaccine is meant to broaden vaccine-induced immunity and provide protection from other XBB sub variants as well. This is similar to how the flu shot works in that the formula changes every year depending on which strain is spreading the most at the time. The vaccine will not prevent every version of COVID-19, however, unless there is a great change in the genetics of the virus, it should provide at least partial protection from other strains as well. The treatments for COVID-19 such as antivirals will still work against this new XBB. 1.5 sub variant.

In AP Biology, we learned about the immune system and how memory T cells and B cells are made to fight the same virus in the future. A virus enters the body through a macrophage or dendritic cell. Viral antigens are then presented on the surface of the dendritic cells or macrophages and infected cells. The viral antigen then binds to the Helper T cell and causes cytokines to be released to stimulate B cells and cytotoxic T cells. This creates a memory helper T cell. B cells divide to create plasma cells and memory B cells. The plasma cells secrete antibodies for this virus.

This process is why it is important to receive this vaccine even if one has already been infected by COVID before or if one has received the vaccine before because of the new variants such as XBB. 1.5 that are emerging. The previous COVID-19 vaccine does not necessarily protect against the XBB subvariants and having COVID-19 previously and getting those antibodies through the process described above does not mean you have the antibodies for the new strains.

I still got COVID after having the vaccine because it was a different strain of the virus than the one being targeted in the vaccine. This is very common but hopefully this vaccine means that there will be one less sub variant to worry about!

How Bats Turned Themselves and the World Upside Down

By emdaniels

On December 6, 2022

In Student Post

In a research article written in early-mid November of 2022, Smriti Mallapaty conducts and evaluates the bat ancestry in SARS CoV-2. Over the few years of COVID research, scientists discovered that COVID shares ancestry with bats more recently than they believed. However, recent findings suggest that finding that ancestor is unlikely.

In a recent presentation at the 7th World One Health Congress in Singapore, scientists compared portions of the coronavirus set of genes, which led to the discovery that COVID and bats shared genes as recently as 2016. In addition, it narrowed down the time between SARS-CoV-2 jumping from bats to humans. According to the Bat Conservation Trust, the reason for the transmission of COVID from bats to humans is due to deforestation and livestock farming on the cleared land brought wildlife into much closer contact with humans providing the opportunity for a spillover event.

This study conducted by Mallapaty highlighted the difficulty of finding the direct ancestor of the coronavirus. However, this led to research efforts in Asia. Many southeastern Asian scientists have come together to test the sequencing of viruses in different tissues to identify the ancestor. But, due to their struggle to find their ancestors’ people began to believe that the virus came from a Wuhan Virology facility. In the Wuhan Virology facility, according to the United States Senate, researchers and their collaborators collected virus expeditions on large scales to Southern China and Southeast Asia, where bats naturally harbor SARS-related viruses, on an annual basis from 2004 onwards. Scientists collected samples of bat blood, urine, and saliva. The bats and or samples from the bats transmitted covid to humans beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This passage relates to the AP Biology Curriculum, specifically the Immune system and Adaptive immunity. In adaptive immunity, the body uses Pathogen Specific Recognition to target infected cells through a cell-mediated response. The MHC protein on macrophages and dendritic cells displays the foreign antigen and releases cytokine. The cytokines activate the T helper cells to recognize the antigen and start the cell-mediated response. The T helper cells stimulate other T cells to divide into Killer T and T memory cells. The T-killer cells kill infected cells, and T-plasma cells block off and remember the antigen to cause a faster immune response if exposed again. In addition, one can be further protected by receiving the mRNA vaccine. The mRNAs vaccine blocks the spike protein surrounding COVID cells so it can bind to the receptor on human cells that would allow it in.

Overall, from their rigorous research, these scientists were able to find that SARS-CoV-2’s closest known relative is a bat virus found in Laos called BANAL-52, whose genome is 96.8% identical to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, another virus = is called RaTG13, which is 96.1% identical. They did this using a method of isolating viruses from bats and comparing their genomes. All these percentages reveal that the virus has undergone between 40-70 years of evolution. On the other hand, some researchers say that comparing whole-genome sequences ignores the role of recombination in virus evolution. Recombination is a description of DNA made by combining genetic material from 2 different sources. In this process, pieces of RNA could be very different from SARS-CoV-2, suggesting they are more distantly related, whereas other fragments that are much more similar imply a closer relationship. Therefore to account for recombination, researchers compared bat and pangolin genes and split them into segments and smaller nucleotide segments. At that point, each segment was evaluated with a subset to estimate how recently SARS-CoV-2 shared a common ancestor with a bat or animal virus.

This topic grabbed my attention because I was reflecting on my interactions with animals. Besides domesticated animals, the only animals I have had true interactions with are bats and birds. In addition, since the pandemic, I heard about the role bats play in the spread of COVID but never took the time to understand their involvement. In short, I took this opportunity to educate myself on these creatures that hang upside down and turned our world upside down.

Is the recently discovered hidden cavity on the SARS-CoV-2 protein a target for drugs?

By avacuole

On December 6, 2022

In Student Post

Many of us have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and have had the virus, leading us to become used to the virus being prevalent in our lives during the past few years. Even though a successful vaccine has been rolling out for a while now, new therapies have not yet been discovered for future strains. Finding new therapies for the virus remains a major priority in the field of science, even if many of us have been protected already. This issue remains a priority because new variants and strains have been continuing to emerge, and some resist present therapy mechanisms.

SARS-CoV-2

The most effective approach to attempting to combat the virus is addressing the proteins on the surface of therapeutic targets, known as spike proteins. The spike protein (S proteins) located on the surface of the virus leads to its spiky protrusions, and its mechanism to enter human cells. Like we learned in AP Biology class, the spike proteins of the virus latch to cells by matching with a specific receptor on a cell’s surface. The spike proteins of the virus have to latch on to the new cell to infect. Successful messenger RNA vaccines properly target this spike protein, which is the main goal when creating new therapies for viruses.

Spiky appearance of SARS CoV-2 virus

Luigi Gervasio, a chemistry and structural/molecular biology professor at University College London, and his team have been working towards addressing this issue. By partnering with the University of Barcelona’s research team, the two teams took the first steps to discover a possible mechanism for future drugs to detect and protect against the SARS CoV-2 Virus. Through thorough research and investigation, they uncovered a “hidden” cavity on the surface of a prominent infectious agent of the virus known as Nsp1. The team was able to make this discovery by testing small molecules that had the potential to bind to the Nsp1 cavity. The team identified one, 5 acetylaminoindane, which is essential for the development of new drugs against viruses. They concluded that this cavity permitted the calculation of the cavity’s atomically spatial arrangement, which will allow the development of these drugs.

The results of their breakthrough findings set the stage for developing new therapies that will be able to target the NSp1 protein against SARS-CoV-2 and present Nsp1 proteins in future coronavirus strains. Not only will this finding be impactful for targeting SARS-CoV-2 and future variants, but also new cavities on the surface of other proteins that have yet to be found by scientists. Finally, this research is monumental for both SARS-CoV-2 and virus treatment in years to come!

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: COVIDvaccine

New COVID-19 Vaccine

How Bats Turned Themselves and the World Upside Down

Is the recently discovered hidden cavity on the SARS-CoV-2 protein a target for drugs?

Archives