Sarkar M, Madabhavi I. COVID-19 mutations: An overview. World J Methodol 2024; 14(3): 89761 [PMID: 39310238 DOI: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i3.89761]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Irappa Madabhavi, MBBS, MD, DM, ECMO. Consultant Physician-Scientist, Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, J N Medical College, and KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka 590010, India. irappamadabhavi@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Review
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Methodol. Sep 20, 2024; 14(3): 89761 Published online Sep 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i3.89761
COVID-19 mutations: An overview
Malay Sarkar, Irappa Madabhavi
Malay Sarkar, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla 171001, Himachal Pradesh, India
Irappa Madabhavi, Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, J N Medical College, and KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka 590010, India
Irappa Madabhavi, Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Kerudi Cancer Hospital, Bagalkot, Karnataka 587103, India
Author contributions: Sarkar M conceived and designed the experiment, made critical revisions, and approved the final version; Madabhavi I and Sarkar M analyzed the previous studies and research and wrote the first draft of the manuscript, contributed to the writing of the manuscript, jointly developed the structure and arguments for the paper. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflicts of interest while publishing this research work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Irappa Madabhavi, MBBS, MD, DM, ECMO. Consultant Physician-Scientist, Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, J N Medical College, and KAHER, Belagavi, Karnataka 590010, India. irappamadabhavi@gmail.com
Received: November 12, 2023 Revised: February 7, 2024 Accepted: April 17, 2024 Published online: September 20, 2024 Processing time: 226 Days and 4.5 Hours
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the genus Beta coronavirus and the family of Coronaviridae. It is a positive-sense, non-segmented single-strand RNA virus. Four common types of human coronaviruses circulate globally, particularly in the fall and winter seasons. They are responsible for 10%-30% of all mild upper respiratory tract infections in adults. These are 229E, NL63 of the Alfacoronaviridae family, OC43, and HKU1 of the Betacoronaviridae family. However, there are three highly pathogenic human coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and the latest pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection. All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, have the inherent tendency to evolve. SARS-CoV-2 is still evolving in humans. Additionally, due to the development of herd immunity, prior infection, use of medication, vaccination, and antibodies, the viruses are facing immune pressure. During the replication process and due to immune pressure, the virus may undergo mutations. Several SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the variants of concern (VOCs), such as B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.617/B.1.617.2 (Delta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) have been reported from various parts of the world. These VOCs contain several important mutations; some of them are on the spike proteins. These mutations may lead to enhanced infectivity, transmissibility, and decreased neutralization efficacy by monoclonal antibodies, convalescent sera, or vaccines. Mutations may also lead to a failure of detection by molecular diagnostic tests, leading to a delayed diagnosis, increased community spread, and delayed treatment. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Covariant, the Stanford variant Database, and the CINAHL from December 2019 to February 2023 using the following search terms: VOC, SARS-CoV-2, Omicron, mutations in SARS-CoV-2, etc. This review discusses the various mutations and their impact on infectivity, transmissibility, and neutralization efficacy.
Core Tip: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 virus is constantly evolving because to natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity which exert continual immunological pressure, resulting in the generation of newer variants and numerous new mutations. This study detailed the many variants of concern (VOCs), including their transmissibility, severity, and immune-evasion capacities. We have also discussed several key mutations and their consequences. The tables summarized the major points of the paper and provided a full discussion of the important mutations found in these VOCs. Readers will benefit from our article's concise overview of these areas.
