The high infinity of the “delta” -variant SARS-COV-2 is explained by its improved body to merge from the human cell membrane, researchers found out. Explaining the reason for the dominance of the article by the article by scientists from the United States is published in the SCIENCE journal.
The most common now in the world of “Delta” -variant coronavirus is the most contagious of those known. In its experiment on human cell cultures, experts from Harvard Medical School found out that the S-protein “Delta” -variant is better than others adapted to the merger of the virus membranes and human cells after binding to the ACE2 receptor. This makes it much more efficient and faster to infect cells. Especially strongly this effect was manifested with a low content of ACE2. “Among the various options,” Delta “stands out by its ability to speed up the merger of membranes,” one of the researchers Bin Chen.
With the help of cryoelectronic microscopy, scientists received images and compared the S-proteins “Delta” -, “Gamma” – and “Kappa” -variants of coronavirus with those of “Alpha” – and “beta” -varis. All have observed mutations in two key parts of the S-protein recognized by neutralizing antibodies – receptor-binding domain (RBD) and N-terminal domain (NTD). “The first thing we have noticed at the delta version is significant changes to NTD, responsible for its resistance to neutralizing antibodies. RBD also changed, but it poorly influenced antibody resistance,” said Chen.
other NTD options also mutated – each in its own way. The structure of RBD remained relatively unchanged – which makes it, according to researchers, more attractive purpose for the next generation of antibody-based vaccines and drugs.