A geneticist at LSU Health says a mutated strain of coronavirus now circulating in the United States may be more infectious.Dr. Lucio Miele, Professor and Head of Genetics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, says the mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2 may be a “new and improved” virus that is better at infecting human cells than the original strain from Wuhan, China. His assessment is based on a new study from the Scripps Research Institute reporting that a previously discovered mutation in the virus spike protein gene makes it more stable and abundant.Spike proteins are how the virus invades human cells. They bind to receptor cells, allowing the viral membrane to fuse with the human cell membrane and provide entry for the viral material into the cell, Dr. Miele said.Dr. Miele says the findings have several implications, including why Europe and the U.S. are having a much harder time containing transmission because the virus here is much more infectious.He also says data suggests letting the virus spread freely hoping for ‘herd immunity’ to develop is more dangerous than had been thought.”Infected cells become virus factories, producing more and more virus. The more viruses are made, the higher the likelihood of NEW mutations that make the virus even better at spreading, or resistant to treatment,” Dr. Miele said. Miele concludes, “It means that just detecting the virus isn’t enough. We have to actually sequence the viral genome to figure out how it’s changing.”Dr. Miele says this information will be important for the development of vaccines and potential treatments, as well as containment.
NEW ORLEANS —
A geneticist at LSU Health says a mutated strain of coronavirus now circulating in the United States may be more infectious.
Dr. Lucio Miele, Professor and Head of Genetics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, says the mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2 may be a “new and improved” virus that is better at infecting human cells than the original strain from Wuhan, China.
His assessment is based on a new study from the Scripps Research Institute reporting that a previously discovered mutation in the virus spike protein gene makes it more stable and abundant.
Spike proteins are how the virus invades human cells. They bind to receptor cells, allowing the viral membrane to fuse with the human cell membrane and provide entry for the viral material into the cell, Dr. Miele said.
Dr. Miele says the findings have several implications, including why Europe and the U.S. are having a much harder time containing transmission because the virus here is much more infectious.
He also says data suggests letting the virus spread freely hoping for ‘herd immunity’ to develop is more dangerous than had been thought.
“Infected cells become virus factories, producing more and more virus. The more viruses are made, the higher the likelihood of NEW mutations that make the virus even better at spreading, or resistant to treatment,” Dr. Miele said.
Miele concludes, “It means that just detecting the virus isn’t enough. We have to actually sequence the viral genome to figure out how it’s changing.”
Dr. Miele says this information will be important for the development of vaccines and potential treatments, as well as containment.
