researchers at the university of british columbia have discovered what they are calling a “weak spot” in the virus that causes covid-19, paving the way for potential new treatments effective against all strains.
a study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal nature communications says the “key vulnerability” is found in all major variants of the sars-cov-2 virus.
“we’re always looking for, well, is there a chink in the armour? is there a spot that is not changing so much, that we can direct antibodies to that spot?” the study’s senior author, dr. sriram subramaniam, said in an interview.
“that is the value of the new finding, that it tells us where to focus our attention.”
exploiting that weakness could lead to new ways of fighting the illness that has killed almost 6.5 million people across the globe since it was identified more than two years ago, the study says.
subramaniam, a professor in ubc’s faculty of medicine, said the team had studied the virus at an atomic level to find the weak spot and identify an antibody fragment that can attach to it across the virus’s many mutations, including the surging omicron subvariants.
antibodies counteract viruses by attaching like a key in a lock. they are naturally produced by the body to fight infection, but can also be made in a laboratory and administered to patients as a treatment, becoming less effective over time as viruses mutate.