RNA viruses like the SARS-CoV-2 constantly mutate. The mutations happen inside a person’s body during a COVID-19 infection.
The alterations in the gene change the protein sequences and conformation of the virus. The mutations alter the viral properties.
For example, a study showed that a change in a single nucleotide, the building block of an RNA, can make the SARS-CoV-2 more pathogenic or deadly. [1]
Some mutations can also cause a PCR test to be false-negative. [2]
An article published in Cytokine Growth Factor Review shows that modifications can happen in different parts of the SARS-CoV-2. The changes can be in the spike protein and the receptor-binding protein (RBD). The virus uses the RBD to attach to human cells. [3]
The image below is the spike protein. The tip in magenta is the receptor-binding domain.
That is why in a COVID-19 infection, the SARS-CoV-2 viruses can mutate to produce several variants.
These SARS-COV-2 variants can be transmitted to other people and spread. Some variants are more infectious, and others are more deadly. Fortunately, the less lethal but transmissible variants survive and infect other people. That is why the dominant variant changes during an epidemic.
You probably have heard of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and now the omicron variant.
Below is a Tree Diagram of all the SARS-CoV-2 variants.
You can see a list of variants of interest and variants of concern at the CDC webpage SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions.
the Immune System
As mutations happen during a viral infection, the immune system makes different antibodies to match the changes in the virus.
A paper published in Science Magazine evaluated the antibodies produced by people who recovered from COVID-19.
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, University of North Carolina, and National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of South Africa made the study.
Serum samples from four subjects were chosen among 22 who recovered from COVID-19. They were selected because their antibodies were highly reactive or ultrapotent against the Washington-1 variant. Only a small amount of antibodies are needed to neutralize the viruses.
The second discovery, which is utterly amazing is that they found that the neutralizing antibodies from the convalescent donor are also effective against 13 circulating variants of concern and variants of interest, including B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.427, B.1.429, B.1.526, P.1 (Gamma), P.2, B.1.617.1, and B.1.617.2 (Delta).
Third, the researchers then tested if the variants could escape the antibodies. They discovered that combinations of the antibodies against the receptor-binding domain effectively neutralized the virus and prevented a new variant from evading the immune system. Prevention of immune escape is needed to stop the viral spread to other people and end the epidemic.
Natural Immunity vs. Vaccine-Induced Immunity
This study highlights the effectiveness of natural immunity against infections and epidemics. The immune system’s exposure to different viral proteins and variants in COVID-19, even if mild or asymptomatic, allows the body to make a more expansive repertoire of antibodies against several variants of SARS-COV-2.
In contrast, the current COVID-19 vaccines only introduce the spike protein from the original Wuhan strain and do not mutate inside the body. The antibodies produced from the vaccine are limited, so breakthrough infections happen with a new variant.
Reinfection rates among people who recovered from COVID-19 before are low. Many studies have the same conclusion.
They are presented at Ten Studies showing a low risk of COVID-19 reinfection among unvaccinated.
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- Yao et al. Patient-derived mutations impact pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2.
- Rajib et al. A SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Containing Mutation in the Probe Binding Region Used for qRT-PCR Test in Japan Exhibited Atypical PCR Amplification and Might Induce False Negative Result.
- Cosar et al. SARS-CoV-2 Mutations and their Viral Variants [published online ahead of print, 2021 Jul 2]. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2021; S1359-6101(21)00053-8. doi:10.1016/j.cytogfr.2021.06.001
- Wang et al. Ultrapotent antibodies against diverse and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. Science. 2021 Aug 13;373(6556):eabh1766. doi: 10.1126/science.abh1766. Epub 2021 Jul 1. PMID: 34210892.
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