RESUMO
The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in the emergence of new variant lineages that have exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those variants were designated as variants of concern/interest (VOC/VOI) by national or international authorities based on many factors including their potential impact on vaccine-mediated protection from disease. To ascertain and rank the risk of VOCs and VOIs, we analyze the ability of 14 variants (614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, and Omicron) to escape from mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies. The variants show differential reductions in neutralization and replication by post-vaccination sera. Although the Omicron variant (BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2) shows the most escape from neutralization, sera collected after a third dose of vaccine (booster sera) retain moderate neutralizing activity against that variant. Therefore, vaccination remains an effective strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Vacinas contra COVID-19 , Humanos , Testes de Neutralização , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2/genética , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Vacinas Sintéticas , Vacinas de mRNARESUMO
All viruses balance interactions between cellular machinery co-opted to support replication and host factors deployed to halt the infection. We use gene correlation analysis to perform an unbiased screen for host factors involved in influenza A virus (FLUAV) infection. Our screen identifies the cellular factor epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (EPS8) as the highest confidence pro-viral candidate. Knockout and overexpression of EPS8 confirm its importance in enhancing FLUAV infection and titers. Loss of EPS8 does not affect virion attachment, uptake, or fusion. Rather, our data show that EPS8 specifically functions during virion uncoating. EPS8 physically associates with incoming virion components, and subsequent nuclear import of released ribonucleoprotein complexes is significantly delayed in the absence of EPS8. Our study identifies EPS8 as a host factor important for uncoating, a crucial step of FLUAV infection during which the interface between the virus and host is still being discovered.