I have updated my BA.2.86 slides: https://slides.com/jbloom/new_2nd_gen_ba2_variant
Slides are still up-to-date with regards to spike protein mutations.
But enough BA.2.86 sequences have now identified that slides are no longer an effective way to track those.
Instead see this tree: https://nextstrain.org/groups/neherlab/ncov/BA.2.86
Also the results of wastewater sequencing: https://twitter.com/dr_leshan/status/1694368402624893045
https://twitter.com/TanjaStadler_CH/status/1694298380841996613
Our #SARSCoV2 humanized ACE2 mouse pathogenesis model paper is now out in #PLOSPathogens . Great effort from many and led by my great colleague Bev Koller.
We find that hACE2 expression is regulated by upstream and intragenic elements.
Author summary SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, infects the human respiratory tract by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a protein on the outer surface of cells that is exposed to the air we inhale. Differences in the structure of ACE2 between mouse and man prevent the virus from infecting cells lining the airways of the mouse, limiting the usefulness of wildtype mice as a model system for studying COVID-19. To circumvent this problem, we have created two mouse lines in which the chromosomal segment that encodes the mouse ACE2 protein has been replaced with the equivalent segment of human DNA. In the first of these lines, expression of human ACE2 is regulated by the mouse upstream promoter, while in the second line it is regulated by the human upstream promoter. Using these mice, we show both qualitative and quantitative differences between ACE2 expression driven by the mouse and human promoters that are likely to impact disease progression in the two species. Mice expressing the full-length human ACE2 gene under the control of its own promoter should provide a useful model system for understanding the complex pathological processes and immune responses associated with COVID-19 in humans.
Happy to be a part of this study just out in #Immunity led by Raiees Andrabi in which we characterize broadly neutralizing anti-S2 antibodies that protect against #SARSCoV #SARSCoV2 and #MERSCoV
https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(23)00079-1
I'm on this NPR piece with people who mostly disagree with me that we should update the shots annually (except @davidrmartinez)! https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1150032238
I want to rebut the point that providing updates to the boosters hinders development of next-gen vaccines. The money doesn't come from the same pot--it's not zero sum. E.g. the ACA requires insurance to cover vaccines that ACIP approves. That's a different pot than NIH R01s, SBIRs, venture funds that support variant-proof, nasal vaccines, etc.
I can’t believe this has to be said but I told @Newsweek
“The egg shortage has been exacerbated by millions of culled egg-laying hens due to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The egg shortage has nothing to do with imagined conspiracies."
https://www.newsweek.com/conspiracy-theory-covid-egg-shortage-social-media-1779418
Isolation and infection cycle of a polinton-like virus virophage in an abundant marine alga
This is an important study that shows how #virophage have evolved multiple times independently in distinct viral groups. Turns out that #viruses infecting other viruses are quite common!
Also gotta love the opening sentence: "Eukaryotic genomes are a hub where viruses and selfish genetic elements convene" - so true.
Amazing work by the @BejaLab lab!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01305-7
Tweetorial on the study from @veeslerlab here:
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RT @veeslerlab
Curious about #COVID19 #SARSCoV2 therapeutic antibodies, bivalent vaccines & immune imprinting?
Here is our latest work on these topics in collaboration with @DavideCorti6 @msdiamondlab
Led by @AminAddetia @LucaPiccoli9 Brett Case @YoungjunPark11
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https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.17.523798v1
https://twitter.com/veeslerlab/status/1615474603983523840
Helen Branswell
Bloom Lab
Deepta Bhattacharya
Frank Aylward
Edward Nirenberg