“We’ve developed a predictive tool that can tell you ahead of time which antibodies are going to be effective against circulating strains of virus,” said lead author Timothy Whitehead, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering.
“But the implications for this technology are more profound: If you can predict what the variants will be in a given season, you could get vaccinated to match the sequence that will occur and short-circuit this seasonal variation.”
Researchers developed a genetically modified version bakers yeast to express some of SARS-CoV-2’s viral spike proteins along the yeast’s surface, with which they can map resulting mutations that form and escape neutralizing antibodies.
This informs the development of more effective booster vaccines and tailored antibody treatments for patients with severe cases of COVID-19, said Whitehead.
Under a microscope, spike proteins appear like a crown, which is where coronaviruses corona being Latin for “crown”gain their name, and how they bind to cells like a key in a lock. When antibodies recognize them, latch on, and prevent them from binding to cells, they prevent infection.
“There are mutations on the spike protein that prevent an antibody from going in and recognizing it. Just like getting a new haircut, you look like a different person; this looks like a different virus to that antibody,” said Whitehead.
Mutations on the spike proteins of delta variant, have made it more contagious and reduced the efficacy of some antibody therapies.
Researchers should identify mutations on the spike protein that could prevent these antibodies from working. Then they wanted to predict what mutations are likely to occur nextwhat could become the zeta, eta or theta variant?
“When the pandemic started, we saw the opportunity to apply techniques mastered by our lab to make a contribution,” said Irene Francino-Urdaniz, co-author on the paper, graduate student in chemical and biological engineering and a Balsells fellow.
“When a new variant was detected, based on my research, I could most of the times guess which mutations were present. I am very excited to have contributed with my work not only to this pandemic but possibly to future vaccines.”
Francino-Urdaniz developed a genetically engineered strain of common baker’s yeast, which could display different areas of the viral spike protein on its surface. She then discovered how to screen through thousands of mutations in a single test tube to find the ones that evaded neutralizing antibodies.
Researchers can see a wide variety of mutations develop at the same speed at which the yeast can growleaps and bounds faster than the rate at which mutations will emerge in real time. This could give scientists an invaluable head start.
A universal vaccine
Researchers will provide all their libraries of information, methods and software as an openly available community resource to accelerate new therapeutic strategies against SARS-CoV-2.
So, the next COVID-19 vaccine gives hope for those who are immunocompromised or remain at a higher risk of contracting a bad case, as this research can be applied to proactively prepare antibody cocktails for specific mutations, giving them a better chance at survival and recovery.
Due to the adaptability of new mRNA vaccines which work with spike proteins, the applications of this research are not limited to one virus, said Whitehead.
“You can use it for mapping trajectories for influenza and for HIV potentially; for other viral diseases that are known, and also potentially emerging pandemic ones,” he said.
Source: Medindia
