SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Specific Mutations Affecting Infectivity, Fusogenicity, and Partial TMPRSS2-Independency.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted from the global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since its first appearance in 2019, new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) have emerged frequently, changing the infection's dynamic. SARS-CoV-2 infects cells via two distinct entry routes; receptor-mediated endocytosis or membrane fusion, depending on the absence or presence of transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), respectively. In laboratory conditions, the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 strain inefficiently infects cells predominantly via endocytosis and is phenotypically characterized by decreased syncytia formation compared to the earlier Delta variant. Thus, it is important to characterize Omicron's unique mutations and their phenotypic manifestations. Here, by utili

SUBMITTER: Strobelt R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10223509 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature