Newly Isolated โSARS-CoV-2 Strain from Pediatric Patient Offers Key Insights into Viral Evolution & โTreatment
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Researchers have successfully isolated a โunique strain of SARS-CoV-2, designatedโฃ N15, from a pediatric COVID-19 patient, providingโ a valuable resource for understanding viral diversity and assessingโค the effectiveness of antiviral therapies. The โขfindings, โpublishedโค today, โhighlight the importanceโค of studying viral isolates from โchildren, aโฃ population historically underrepresented โฃin genomic surveillance efforts.
Despite the โฃglobal decline in severe COVID-19 cases, SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, necessitating ongoing researchโ to track โemerging variants and โขoptimize treatment strategies. Pediatric cases, โคwhile โคoften milder, contribute to the virus’s transmission andโข potential for mutation. This newlyโฃ isolated strain, originating from โฃa nasal swabโ sample, โoffers โฃa crucial referenceโข point for comparative analyses against currently circulating variantsโ and for evaluating the efficacy โof existing and novel antiviral drugs.
The research team employedโ vero cells to โisolate the virus through five passagesโข ofโ blind culture. Replication was โconfirmed via โdigital RT-PCR and visually observed throughโข microscopicโค examination of cytopathic effects -โ the appearance of clusters of dead cells – within 48 hours of infection. Subsequent next-generation sequencing revealed N15 to be โclassified within the 19B lineage,exhibiting 99.9% genomic similarity to the original Wuhan-Hu-1 strain.
Notably,โ the N15 isolate harbored โขtwoโข rare โฃmutations: N709S in the spike protein and T11M in the E protein. despite theseโฃ mutations, the virus demonstrated replication kinetics comparable โto โthe B.1 and โฃB.1.1.529 (Omicron) lineages.
Antiviral testing indicated that Remdesivir, Molnupiravir, andโค Nirmatrelvir allโฃ effectively โinhibited N15 replication, though IC50 values varied depending on the โcell type used in the assays. Researchers emphasize that the isolate’s sensitivity to these treatments underscores its potential as a benchmark for โevaluating antiviral efficacyโข against โคfuture variants. โค
The N15 strain, with its blend of ancestral โgenomic features and unique mutations, โคrepresents a meaningfulโข addition toโค the growing catalog of SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Its availability โwill facilitate ongoing research aimed at unraveling the complexities โofโ viralโค evolution and informing public health responses to the โongoing pandemic.
Keywords: N15 strain; SARS-CoV-2; biology; โฃgenetic characterization; pediatric patient.