The 501Y.V2 SARS-CoV-2 variant has an intermediate viral load between the 501Y.V1 and the historical variants in nasopharyngeal samples from newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients

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Abstract

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.21.21253498: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.


    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Another limitation is the small number of positive cases for the 501Y.V2 compared to the two other strains. This number was principally due to the only few positive cases in Paris area at that time. Our data observed a gradient in Ct values. Indeed, the two new variants seem to present a higher viral load compared to the historical SARS-CoV-2 which might arise from the fact that they share the same N501Y mutation probably leading to a better infectivity [2,3,10]. When we compared these two variants, we observed that the 501Y.V2 seems to be associated with lower viral load compared to the 501Y.V1 for the N target gene, a difference which fades for the ORF1ab target gene. The difference of Ct values that we have observed could be due to their other specific mutations. Considering the 501Y.V2, it does not seem that the Spike RBD has higher affinity for ACE2 as compared to the reference Spike. If indeed the transmission is enhanced, this could be due to mutation outside the direct ACE2–Spike interface[11]. Moreover, it has been shown that an active viral replication was associated with the transcription of subgenomic viral RNA and that this active replication occurs during the first days after the onset of symptoms[12]. As we collected only the first presentation test sample, which suggest the presence of an active viral replication, the difference between the N and the ORF1ab genes for these two new variants could be explained by the presence of these subgenomic viral RNA. Our s...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.


    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.