SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Variants

Rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection provide laboratory-independent results at the point of care and are powerful tools for public health interventions. Clinical and analytical studies, published in 2021, showed detection thresholds for SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT related to the presence of infectious viruses in symptomatic SARS-CoV-2.1 infections, 2 However, most studies of Ag-RDT validation was before the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) or of interest (VOI) emerged, and VOCs currently outnumber the previous lineages3. Validation studies comparing multiple VOCs in parallel are unlikely.
We investigated the analytical sensitivity of nine commercially available Ag-RDTs using cultured SARS-CoV-2, comparing lineage B.1.610 (first pandemic wave of COVID-19 in Europe) with COV B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P . 1 and VOI P.2.

Although most mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome are expected to be deleterious and rapidly purging or relatively neutral, a small proportion will affect functional properties and may alter infectivity. , the severity of the disease or interactions with the host. immunity. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 was followed by a period of relative evolutionary stasis that lasted for approximately 11 months.

However, since the end of 2020, the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has been characterized by the appearance of sets of mutations, in the context of ‘worrying variants’, affecting the characteristics of the virus, including transmissibility and antigenicity, probably in response to immune changes. profile of the human population.

There is emerging evidence of a reduction in the neutralization of some SARS-CoV-2 variants by post-vaccination serum; however, a greater understanding of the correlates of protection is required to assess how this may affect the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, manufacturers are preparing platforms for a possible update of vaccine sequences, and it is essential that surveillance of genetic and antigenic changes in the global virus population is carried out in conjunction with experiments to elucidate the phenotypic impacts of mutations.

In this review, we summarize the literature on mutations in the peak protein of SARS-CoV-2, the primary antigen, focusing on their impacts on antigenicity and contextualizing them in protein structure, and discussing them in the context of frequencies of mutation observed in the world. sequence data sets.

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