Decoding viral evolution in real time and assessing its impact on host innate immune responses

It is a natural occurrence that viruses and humans co-exist.

Although the acute phase of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is behind us, the virus continues to evolve. This ongoing evolution poses a high risk for the emergence of variants, which undermine existing immunity.

While considerable knowledge exists regarding antibody responses and T cells reactivity, the contribution of innate factors in protecting us against SARS-CoV-2 remains relatively unexplored.

Moreover, it is still unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 evolves to escape from such innate immunity.The proposed project addresses this knowledge gap by decoding the interplay of SARS-CoV-2 evolution with host innate immunity and the consequences thereof on infection outcomes in patients.

To this end, we will delineate whether mutations in emerging variants impact on recognition by innate natural killer (NK) cells.

We will monitor the co-evolution of SARS-CoV-2 with NK cells in real time by leveraging computational methods and global databases.

Finally, we seek to understand how this interplay influences infection outcomes in patients, potentially paving the way for precision medicine interventions.Collectively, successful implementation of the project will provide interdisciplinary insights that deepen our understanding of viral evolution and its impact on host innate immune responses.

This may have important implications for patients and provide valuable insights for future pandemics.