新型冠状病毒变异株研究进展

Research advances in SARS-CoV-2 variants

新型冠状病毒肺炎(Coronavirus disease-19,COVID-19)是由新型冠状病毒(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2,SARS-CoV-2)引起的一种发病率、致死率极高的新型呼吸系统传染病.由于SARS-CoV-2易于突变,不断出现的SARS-CoV-2变异株是终结COVID-19大流行的巨大阻碍.部分变异株被世界卫生组织划分为“关切变异株”(Variants Of Concern,VOC),其满足以下条件:病毒株的传播能力、致病力或临床表现改变;诊断、疫苗、治疗的有效性降低.截至目前,VOC有5个,分别为Alpha、Beta、Gamma、Delta以及Omicron.一些重要的氨基酸突变在这些变异株中交叉或者同时出现,对这些变异株的流行特点以及变异株中重要氨基酸突变特征进行综述,为SARS-CoV-2变异株的药物、抗体和疫苗等研发工作提供科学参考.

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is a novel respiratory infectious disease with high incidence and mortality rate caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Because SARS-CoV-2 is prone to mutation,the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variant strain has caused a great impediment to ending the covid-19 pandemic.Some variants are defined by the World Health Organization as'Variants Of Concern(VOC)'.VOC fulfilled the following conditions:transmissibility,pathogenicity or altered clinical expression;reduced effectiveness of diagnostics,vaccines,and treatments.Up to now,there are five VOC,namely Alpha,Beta,Gamma,Delta and Omicron.Some amino acid mutations are shared or shifted by multiple VOC.This review mainly provides an overview of the prevalent characteristics of these variants as well as the characteristics of the important amino acid mutations in these variants,which may provide a scientific reference for research and development of drugs,antibodies,and vaccines.