Overview of SARS COVID-2: An Emerging Spike Mutations in Variants and Immune Evasion

Author(s): Ihsan Ullah, Izzat ullah, Aliu Olalekan Olatunji, Zaghum Abbas, Suriya Bala Shanmugar, Bacha Zada, Amin Ullah, Nadir Akhtar, Reema Kumari.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 is a novel coronavirus strain that causes coronavirus illness was originally connected to a serious respiratory illness in late 2019 and since March 2020, has brought about a pandemic. The Coronaviridae family includes the beta coronavirus referred to as SARS-CoV-2. The family is made up of single-stranded (+) ribonucleic acid viruses. There are four coronavirus genera, with viruses known to damage humans located in the alpha and beta genera. These zoonotic viruses can spread from animals to humans. Coronaviruses' spike proteins help in the binding of ACE2 receptors and viral entrance into hosting cells. Although spike protein aids the entrance of viruses via receptors, additionally, it is crucial as an immunogen since it is the part that is easiest to access the virus structure. The four structural proteins of severe acute respiratory coronavirus are N (nucleocapsid), M (membrane), E (envelope), as well as S (spike). The original Wuhan strain was replaced by variants with a wide range of mutations, while 4000 mutations in the alterations in the Coronavirus S protein were recently discovered. Several additional varieties have subsequently evolved and become widely distributed, which include Alpha (B.1.1.7), which was initially discovered in the United Kingdom, Beta (B.1.351) in South Africa, Gamma (P.1 & P.2) in Brazil, Delta (B.1.617.2) in India, and Omicron in South Africa. Eight variants of interest have been identified by the World health organization since the start of the pandemic, including Epsilon (B.1.427 and B.1.429), Zeta (P.2), Eta (B.1.525), Theta (P.3), Iota (B.1.526), Kappa (B.1.617.1), Lambda (C.37), and Mu (B.1.621). Efficiency of vaccinations could be hindered by the quick emergence and expansion of SARS-Coronavirus-2 strain induced by receptor-binding domain and N-terminal domain alterations in the Beta spike protein, which could evade neutralizing antibodies and/or cell-mediated immunity. Although several COVID-19 vaccines, among these, are viral vector and mRNA vaccines, have been designed, more potent vaccines are still required to meet the needs on a global level. Modifying the medicine Remdesivir and Oseltamivir is the best method for creating potent treatments to eliminate COVID-19 and other viral human infections. The SARS-Coronavirus-2 S protein's most prominent alterations are reviewed in this article.