Weak Spot In Virus Responsible For Covid 19 Could Mean New Treatments Say Ubc Researchers

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications says the “key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “We’re always looking for, well, is there a chink in the armor? Is there a spot that doesn’t change so much that we can direct antibodies to that spot?” The study’s senior author, Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, said in an interview. “That’s the value of the new finding, that it tells us where to focus our attention.” Exploiting this weakness could lead to new ways to fight the disease that has killed nearly 6.5 million people worldwide since it was identified more than two years ago, the study says. Subramaniam, a professor at UBC’s medical school, said the team studied the virus at the individual level to find the weak spot and identify an antibody fragment that can attach to it in the many mutations of the virus, including the growing subvariants of Omicron . Antibodies fight viruses and attach like a key to a lock. They are produced naturally by the body to fight infection, but can also be made in a lab and given to patients as a treatment, becoming less effective over time as viruses mutate. But Subramaniam said the weak point his team identified is constant across all seven major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, meaning an antibody could act as a “master key” capable of overcoming widespread mutations. The weak spot and master key “unlock a whole new realm of treatment possibilities,” which have the potential to be effective against current or future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, he said in a statement. The researchers started with the knowledge that the immune system usually responds to what it sees on the surface of the virus, or the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2, he said. All viruses mutate, and the concern with each new variant of COVID-19 has been whether the immune system will be able to recognize the mutated form. “Having a large number of mutations made it a much more efficient escape artist than our immune system,” he said. The weak spot is in the spike protein, he said. The antibody fragment neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by attaching to the spike protein and preventing the virus from entering human cells, he said. “We used very advanced imaging tools to literally zero in and shine a light on the interaction of the spike protein with the antibodies,” he said. What’s special about the localized antibody fragment is that it sticks next to where the spike protein binds to human cells rather than directly binding to it, he said. “It actually takes out a couple of fingers that are still blocking the binding,” he said. “So it achieves this effect by sitting next to it.” In some ways, it’s less like locking the door than reaching out to block entry, he said. “It’s an interesting physical block that’s nearby, but not exactly on this site. And that may well be the reason [the site] it hasn’t mutated that much over time.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: " Weak Spot In Virus Responsible For Covid 19 Could Mean New Treatments Say Ubc Researchers Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-01” author: “Justin Carnahan”

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications says the “key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “We’re always looking for, well, is there a chink in the armor? Is there a spot that doesn’t change so much that we can direct antibodies to that spot?” The study’s senior author, Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, said in an interview. “That’s the value of the new finding, that it tells us where to focus our attention.” Exploiting this weakness could lead to new ways to fight the disease that has killed nearly 6.5 million people worldwide since it was identified more than two years ago, the study says. Subramaniam, a professor at UBC’s medical school, said the team studied the virus at the individual level to find the weak spot and identify an antibody fragment that can attach to it in the many mutations of the virus, including the growing subvariants of Omicron . Antibodies fight viruses and attach like a key to a lock. They are produced naturally by the body to fight infection, but can also be made in a lab and given to patients as a treatment, becoming less effective over time as viruses mutate. But Subramaniam said the weak point his team identified is constant across all seven major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, meaning an antibody could act as a “master key” capable of overcoming widespread mutations. The weak spot and master key “unlock a whole new realm of treatment possibilities,” which have the potential to be effective against current or future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, he said in a statement. The researchers started with the knowledge that the immune system usually responds to what it sees on the surface of the virus, or the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2, he said. All viruses mutate, and the concern with each new variant of COVID-19 has been whether the immune system will be able to recognize the mutated form. “Having a large number of mutations made it a much more efficient escape artist than our immune system,” he said. The weak spot is in the spike protein, he said. The antibody fragment neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by attaching to the spike protein and preventing the virus from entering human cells, he said. “We used very advanced imaging tools to literally zero in and shine a light on the interaction of the spike protein with the antibodies,” he said. What’s special about the localized antibody fragment is that it sticks next to where the spike protein binds to human cells rather than directly binding to it, he said. “It actually takes out a couple of fingers that are still blocking the binding,” he said. “So it achieves this effect by sitting next to it.” In some ways, it’s less like locking the door than reaching out to block entry, he said. “It’s an interesting physical block that’s nearby, but not exactly on this site. And that may well be the reason [the site] it hasn’t mutated that much over time.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: " Weak Spot In Virus Responsible For Covid 19 Could Mean New Treatments Say Ubc Researchers Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Daisy Mclaughlin”

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications says the “key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “We’re always looking for, well, is there a chink in the armor? Is there a spot that doesn’t change so much that we can direct antibodies to that spot?” The study’s senior author, Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, said in an interview. “That’s the value of the new finding, that it tells us where to focus our attention.” Exploiting this weakness could lead to new ways to fight the disease that has killed nearly 6.5 million people worldwide since it was identified more than two years ago, the study says. Subramaniam, a professor at UBC’s medical school, said the team studied the virus at the individual level to find the weak spot and identify an antibody fragment that can attach to it in the many mutations of the virus, including the growing subvariants of Omicron . Antibodies fight viruses and attach like a key to a lock. They are produced naturally by the body to fight infection, but can also be made in a lab and given to patients as a treatment, becoming less effective over time as viruses mutate. But Subramaniam said the weak point his team identified is constant across all seven major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, meaning an antibody could act as a “master key” capable of overcoming widespread mutations. The weak spot and master key “unlock a whole new realm of treatment possibilities,” which have the potential to be effective against current or future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, he said in a statement. The researchers started with the knowledge that the immune system usually responds to what it sees on the surface of the virus, or the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2, he said. All viruses mutate, and the concern with each new variant of COVID-19 has been whether the immune system will be able to recognize the mutated form. “Having a large number of mutations made it a much more efficient escape artist than our immune system,” he said. The weak spot is in the spike protein, he said. The antibody fragment neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by attaching to the spike protein and preventing the virus from entering human cells, he said. “We used very advanced imaging tools to literally zero in and shine a light on the interaction of the spike protein with the antibodies,” he said. What’s special about the localized antibody fragment is that it sticks next to where the spike protein binds to human cells rather than directly binding to it, he said. “It actually takes out a couple of fingers that are still blocking the binding,” he said. “So it achieves this effect by sitting next to it.” In some ways, it’s less like locking the door than reaching out to block entry, he said. “It’s an interesting physical block that’s nearby, but not exactly on this site. And that may well be the reason [the site] it hasn’t mutated that much over time.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: " Weak Spot In Virus Responsible For Covid 19 Could Mean New Treatments Say Ubc Researchers Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Tasha Atwood”

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications says the “key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “We’re always looking for, well, is there a chink in the armor? Is there a spot that doesn’t change so much that we can direct antibodies to that spot?” The study’s senior author, Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, said in an interview. “That’s the value of the new finding, that it tells us where to focus our attention.” Exploiting this weakness could lead to new ways to fight the disease that has killed nearly 6.5 million people worldwide since it was identified more than two years ago, the study says. Subramaniam, a professor at UBC’s medical school, said the team studied the virus at the individual level to find the weak spot and identify an antibody fragment that can attach to it in the many mutations of the virus, including the growing subvariants of Omicron . Antibodies fight viruses and attach like a key to a lock. They are produced naturally by the body to fight infection, but can also be made in a lab and given to patients as a treatment, becoming less effective over time as viruses mutate. But Subramaniam said the weak point his team identified is constant across all seven major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, meaning an antibody could act as a “master key” capable of overcoming widespread mutations. The weak spot and master key “unlock a whole new realm of treatment possibilities,” which have the potential to be effective against current or future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, he said in a statement. The researchers started with the knowledge that the immune system usually responds to what it sees on the surface of the virus, or the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2, he said. All viruses mutate, and the concern with each new variant of COVID-19 has been whether the immune system will be able to recognize the mutated form. “Having a large number of mutations made it a much more efficient escape artist than our immune system,” he said. The weak spot is in the spike protein, he said. The antibody fragment neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by attaching to the spike protein and preventing the virus from entering human cells, he said. “We used very advanced imaging tools to literally zero in and shine a light on the interaction of the spike protein with the antibodies,” he said. What’s special about the localized antibody fragment is that it sticks next to where the spike protein binds to human cells rather than directly binding to it, he said. “It actually takes out a couple of fingers that are still blocking the binding,” he said. “So it achieves this effect by sitting next to it.” In some ways, it’s less like locking the door than reaching out to block entry, he said. “It’s an interesting physical block that’s nearby, but not exactly on this site. And that may well be the reason [the site] it hasn’t mutated that much over time.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.