Potential treatment approach to new COVID-19 variant
Researchers in the United States have demonstrated a potential new approach to treating infection with the new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The team used all-atom molecular dynamics to explore the mechanisms underlying the increased infectivity and spread of the recently emerged B.1.1.7 lineage that has been designated a variant of concern by Public Health England.
The researchers showed that a mutation within B.1.1.7 increases the virus’s ability to bind to host cells through hydrophobic interactions with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).