NEIDL Researchers Discover New SARS-CoV-2 Weak Spot—Which Could Inspire Improved Vaccines

Original article from The Brink by The Brink Staff

Nature publishes BU-led COVID study that made international headlines; scientists find viral protein called NSP6, not just spike, responsible for making Omicron less dangerous than past variants

After three years of infections, lockdowns, and vaccinations, we know a lot about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19—but we don’t know everything. Like, why are some variants weaker than others? Why does the Omicron variant spread fast, yet make people less sick? Do new virus mutations put us at fresh risk or bring us closer to the pandemic’s end? Are there more effective vaccines waiting to be developed?

A new Boston University–led study by an international team of researchers may provide some answers. In a paper published online in Nature, they identify the mutations that help Omicron dodge prior immunity and show that a previously unheralded virus protein—known as NSP6—might be an essential factor in the variant’s lower disease-causing potential, or its pathogenicity. A draft containing some of the paper’s early results had previously made international headlines in October when a series of false reports sensationally misconstrued its findings. But the study’s senior author, BU virologist Mohsan Saeed, says their research could have a major positive impact, potentially helping provide a new target for vaccines and therapeutics.

“This is an important piece of work showing that the spike protein has only minimal contribution to Omicron’s lower pathogenicity—and that mutations in another protein, NSP6, play an essential role,” says Saeed, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine assistant professor of biochemistry. “This provides us with an exciting new concept for future vaccines and therapeutics—if we know how to weaken the virus, we can better fight it.”

Click to read the full article in The Brink.