Husna, Amity University Kolkata
To understand the movement and behaviour of fish in a pond, it’s necessary to study it in a pond in summer rather than a pond in winter. A fish that lives in an icy condition would remain still, this would help study its scales, but it won’t reveal the behaviour of how the fish moves and how it swims, for that it needs to move freely in three dimensions. Similarly, for analyzing biological items like viruses, we need to understand how a virus moves in the human body with a higher resolution.
Cryo-EM and LP-EM for observing Virus:
- Cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) is one of the best techniques for observing samples at or beyond atomic resolution. Thousands of images are processed that help to understand what the item looks like in 3D, but to fully understand the function of the item in a more natural setting, more advancement is needed. Though Cryo-EM can provide a lot of information, its drawback is that it produces a static image.
- Liquid-phase electron microscopy (LP-EM) is another exciting area in the field of materials imaging. It provides a study based on time-resolved insights. However, there’s a need to expand LP-EM technology beyond 2D observations and into the 3D regime.
Recent Study (2021):
Recently, a research team has utilized advanced electron microscopy (EM) technology to understand the movement of human viruses with a higher resolution. This visualization would not only provide an understanding of viral movement but would also provide an improved understanding of how vaccine candidates and treatments behave and function when they interact with target cells. The results of the study revealed new structures and active insights of human viruses present within minute volumes of liquid. This was similar to the size of respiratory droplets that spread SARS-CoV-2.
To gain an in-depth knowledge of human health and disease, the physical properties of biological entities like viruses should be observed in a liquid state, as maintained in the human body, and not a solid state.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) model for observing Virus:
- For the model system, adeno-associated virus (AAV) was used by the researchers. It is a gene vehicle that is involved in drug delivery and vaccine development for COVID-19. A hijacked adenovirus is used, which could easily enter several kinds of cells.
- Tiny volumes of liquid solution with AAV were applied to the wells of silicon nitride microchips. Then the microchip assemblies were placed in EM to examine the viruses in action.
- AAV interacts with phase-EM, as a complement to the information gathered from Cryo-EM results.
- The results showed videos of AAV moving in liquid. There were precise changes on the surface of particles, this suggests that the physical properties of a particle change as it explores its environment
Significance of the study:
Once the imaging strategy was proven, the researchers set their sights on a smaller target i.e., antibodies produced by COVID-19 patients. They observed the interaction of antibodies present in the serum of COVID-19 patients with the remaining SARS-CoV-2 particles. An understanding of such interactions would be very useful while assessing the viability of vaccine candidates before clinical trials.
The researchers have planned to continue investigating the molecular underpinnings of SARS-CoV-2 and host-receptor proteins using liquid because the data obtained by visualizing movement in a solution would provide complete information on how the viruses look and behave in the living body.
Also read: Specific Infections Require Specific Terminators: CAR T-cells
References:
- Jonaid, G., Dearnaley, W. J., Casasanta, M. A., Kaylor, L., Berry, S., Dukes, M. J., Spilman, M. S., Gray, J. L., & Kelly, D. F. (2021). High‐resolution imaging of human viruses in liquid droplets. Advanced Materials, 2103221. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202103221
- Wennersherron, A. J., & University, P. S. (n.d.). Researchers film human viruses in liquid droplets at near-atomic detail. Retrieved August 3, 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2021-07-human-viruses-liquid-droplets-near-atomic.html
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Author’s info:
Husna is an undergraduate student of BTech Biotechnology at Amity University Kolkata. She is a research enthusiast in Immunology and Immunotherapy but she has a keen interest in various other Bioscience subjects as well. She is constantly focused on improving her knowledge and laboratory skills through various internships. She is a Scientific content writer who has knowledge in diverse backgrounds of Biotechnology.
Publications:
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