SARS-CoV-2 spike D614G change enhances replication and transmission.
Nature
; 592(7852): 122-127, 2021 04.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1104508
ABSTRACT
During the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, a D614G substitution in the spike glycoprotein (S) has emerged; virus containing this substitution has become the predominant circulating variant in the COVID-19 pandemic1. However, whether the increasing prevalence of this variant reflects a fitness advantage that improves replication and/or transmission in humans or is merely due to founder effects remains unknown. Here we use isogenic SARS-CoV-2 variants to demonstrate that the variant that contains S(D614G) has enhanced binding to the human cell-surface receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), increased replication in primary human bronchial and nasal airway epithelial cultures as well as in a human ACE2 knock-in mouse model, and markedly increased replication and transmissibility in hamster and ferret models of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data show that the D614G substitution in S results in subtle increases in binding and replication in vitro, and provides a real competitive advantage in vivo-particularly during the transmission bottleneck. Our data therefore provide an explanation for the global predominance of the variant that contains S(D614G) among the SARS-CoV-2 viruses that are currently circulating.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Virus Replication
/
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Mutation
Type of study:
Observational study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Nature
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41586-021-03361-1
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