Elsevier

Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews

Volume 63, February 2022, Pages 10-22
Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews

Mini review
SARS-CoV-2 Mutations and their Viral Variants

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cytogfr.2021.06.001Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus occur spontaneously during replication.

  • The fastest-spreading variants recently detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been the focus of attention.

  • Mutations in glycoprotein S lead to vaccine escape as the situation is related to protein location and affinity.

  • The presence of the SARS-CoV-2 strains can be attributed to the heterogeneity of COVID-19 cases in different regions.

Abstract

Mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occur spontaneously during replication. Thousands of mutations have accumulated and continue to since the emergence of the virus. As novel mutations continue appearing at the scene, naturally, new variants are increasingly observed.

Since the first occurrence of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, a wide variety of drug compounds affecting the binding sites of the virus have begun to be studied. As the drug and vaccine trials are continuing, it is of utmost importance to take into consideration the SARS-CoV-2 mutations and their respective frequencies since these data could lead the way to multi-drug combinations. The lack of effective therapeutic and preventive strategies against human coronaviruses (hCoVs) necessitates research that is of interest to the clinical applications.

The reason why the mutations in glycoprotein S lead to vaccine escape is related to the location of the mutation and the affinity of the protein. At the same time, it can be said that variations should occur in areas such as the receptor-binding domain (RBD), and vaccines and antiviral drugs should be formulated by targeting more than one viral protein.

In this review, a literature survey in the scope of the increasing SARS-CoV-2 mutations and the viral variations is conducted. In the light of current knowledge, the various disguises of the mutant SARS-CoV-2 forms and their apparent differences from the original strain are examined as they could possibly aid in finding the most appropriate therapeutic approaches.

Keywords

COVID-19
Mutation
Receptor-binding domain
SARS-CoV-2
Spike protein
Viral variants

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Dr. Devrim Demir Dora has graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy in 1995 and got her Msc and PhD degree from Hacettepe University Graduate School of Health Sciences Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Program. She has worked as a Research Assistant at Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Department from 1996 to 2005. Between 2005 and 2007, she has worked at Turkish Ministry of Health, General Directorate of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacy, Quality Control Department, and she has participated in GMP Inspection team especially for the biotechnology derived products. She has worked as an Assistant Professor between 2007 and 2010 at Ege University Faculty of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and since 2010 at Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Pharmacology, Medical Biotechnology and Gene and Cell Therapy. Besides her academic duties, Dr. Demir Dora has been worked as ‘Advisory Board Member’ for approval of biotechnological/biosimilar medicinal products since 2009 at Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency. Her areas of interest are recombinant protein production, regulation of biotechnological and biosimilar products, development of biopharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, advanced therapy medicinal products, gene therapy medicinal products, development of non viral nucleic acid delivery systems for gene therapy, cancer therapy, bacterial transformation, quorum sensing mechanism and genetic competence. She has ‘Bacterial Transformation Kit’ patent and three patent applications about non-viral gene delivery system for treatment of breast cancer and pseudomonas infection.

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