1. SARS-CoV-2 intra-host evolution during prolonged infection in an immunocompromised patient.
- Author
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Quaranta EG, Fusaro A, Giussani E, D'Amico V, Varotto M, Pagliari M, Giordani MT, Zoppelletto M, Merola F, Antico A, Stefanelli P, Terregino C, and Monne I
- Subjects
- Evolution, Molecular, Humans, Immunocompromised Host, Mutation, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 genetics
- Abstract
Objectives: Intra-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution during chronic infection in immunocompromised hosts has been suggested as being the possible trigger of the emergence of new variants., Methods: Using a deep sequencing approach, we investigated the SARS-CoV-2 intra-host genetic evolution in a patient with HIV over a period of 109 days., Results: Sequencing of nasopharyngeal swabs at three time points demonstrated dynamic changes in the viral population, with the emergence of 26 amino acid mutations and two deletions, 57% of them in the Spike protein. Such a combination of mutations has never been observed in other SARS-CoV-2 lineages detected so far., Conclusion: Our data confirm that persistent infection in certain immunocompromised individuals for a long time may favor the dangerous emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants with immune evasion properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
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