All Major COVID Variants Have A Common Vulnerability

By Staff, Agencies

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada have identified a weakness shared by all major variants of COVID-19.

This vulnerability can be targeted by neutralizing antibodies, which could lead to the development of treatments for the disease.

The research, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, used a technique called cryo-electron microscopy to study the atomic structure of the viral spike protein's weak spot, called an epitope.

The results also include a fragment of an antibody known as HAVb6, which can bind to the epitope and neutralize the virus particle.

This paves the way for the design of treatments that could cure many vulnerable people.

During this study, the researchers identified the antibody fragment HAVb6, which has the ability to destroy all major variants of COVID-19 by binding to the spike protein.

The researchers synthesized genes from an S protein [spike protein] of SARS-CoV-2 and introduced them into the spike protein pcDNA3.1. They then synthesized mutated protein S genes and used them to construct the D614G mutant.