Mutated coronavirus can learn to enter cells in a new way

At the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists figured out how the SARS-CoV-2 virus gets inside cells and causes infection

- using the ACE2 receptor. All current novel coronavirus vaccines and antibody therapeutics are designed to disrupt this pathway of entry into cells.

However, in a new study, scientists foundthat one mutation gives SARS-CoV-2 the ability to enter cells through a different route that does not require the participation of ACE2. It seems that the virus can change unexpectedly and find new ways to infect the body. The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.

It is not yet clear whether an alternative path enters intoaction in the real world when people are infected with SARS-CoV-2. Before researchers can figure this out, they must find an alternative receptor that the virus uses to enter cells.

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