Research progress in spike mutations of SARS‐CoV‐2 variants and vaccine development

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic can hardly end with the emergence of different variants over time. In the past 2 years, several variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), such as the Delta and Omicron variants, have emerged with higher transmissibility, immune evasion and drug resistance, leading to higher morbidity and mortality in the population. The prevalent variants of concern (VOCs) share several mutations on the spike that can affect virus characteristics, including transmissibility, antigenicity, and immune evasion. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the neutralization capacity of sera from COVID‐19 convalescent or vaccinated individuals is decreased against SARS‐CoV‐2 variants. Moreover, the vaccine effectiveness of current COVID‐19 vaccines against SARS‐CoV‐2 VOCs is not as high as that against wild‐type SARS‐CoV‐2. Therefore, more attention might be paid to how the mutations impact vaccine effectiveness. In this review, we summarized the current studies on the mutations of the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike, particularly of the receptor binding domain, to elaborate on how the mutations impact the infectivity, transmissibility and immune evasion of the virus. The effects of mutations in the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike on the current therapeutics were highlighted, and potential strategies for future vaccine development were suggested.

The Mutational Landscape of SARS-CoV-2

“…We expected the S gene to contain more non-synonymous mutations. Mutations in the S protein may enhance its interaction with ACE2, help it to escape from the immune system, or improve furin cleavage [2,3,54,55]. It has also been suggested that the S gene is more likely to be single-stranded than other SARS-CoV-2 genes, thus making it a favourable target for C>U deamination and leading to an excessively high mutation rate [56].…”

The Potential of Usnic-Acid-Based Thiazolo-Thiophenes as Inhibitors of the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 Viruses

“…Omicron VOC was identified in November 2021; it quickly replaced the previous Delta variant and became the dominant variant worldwide. The first known genetic lineage of Omicron variant VA.1 features more than 30 mutations in the spike protein [ 56 ]. To date, the omicron variant has completely supplanted all other coronavirus variants.…”

Customizably designed multibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in a variant-insensitive manner

“…This scenario partly occurs because the protection provided by different immunization schemes against newer variants depends on previous infections, vaccination, and hybrid immunity ( 1 , 2 ). This situation, added to the selective pressure exerted on the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the pandemic, has led to the sporadic appearance of variants that confer different degrees of resistance ( 3 , 4 ).…”

“…pressure exerted on the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the pandemic, has led to the sporadic appearance of variants that confer different degrees of resistance (3,4).…”