S. Ozono

SARS-CoV-2 spike P681R mutation, a hallmark of the Delta variant, enhances viral fusogenicity and pathogenicity

This study shows the P681R mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhances fusogenicity and pathogenicity in the Delta variant compared to the prototypic virus.

MARCH8 targets cytoplasmic lysine residues of various viral envelope glycoproteins

This study identifies MARCH8 as an antiviral factor that ubiquitinates and degrades viral envelope glycoproteins by targeting their cytoplasmic lysine residues.

Naturally mutated spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants show differential levels of cell entry

The paper examines how naturally occurring mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins affect cell entry via ACE2 and TMPRSS2, finding that the D614G mutation increases infectivity but remains neutralization-sensitive.

Super-rapid quantitation of the production of HIV-1 harboring a luminescent peptide tag

This paper introduces a HiBiT-based luciferase assay for rapid and accurate quantification of HIV-1 production, outperforming traditional methods like ELISA.

MARCH8 inhibits viral infection by two different mechanisms

This study identifies two distinct mechanisms by which MARCH8 inhibits viral infection: ubiquitination of VSV-G and tyrosine motif-dependent sorting of HIV-1 Env.