澳大新語 • 2022 UMAGAZINE 25 53 學術研究 • ACADEMIC RESEARCH Siddharth Sinha博士是澳大健康科學學院王山鳴教授實驗室的博士後研究員，擁有印度新德里TERI大學生物化 學和分子生物學博士學位，研究專長為蛋白質結構分析和高通量模擬。 Dr Siddharth Sinha is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof San Ming Wang’s laboratory in FHS of UM. He obtained his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from TERI University in New Delhi, India. He specialises in protein structure analysis and high-throughput simulations. 「學術研究」為投稿欄目，內容僅代表作者個人意見。 Articles in the Academic Research column were submitted by UM scholars. The views expressed are solely those of the author(s). strength between the RBD and the ACE2 receptor, altered antibody binding sites on the RBD, and reduced the effectiveness of neutralising antibody. Therefore, RBD double mutations directly contribute to the increased contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2 to the host cells through their increased binding to the ACE2 receptor. Our study was quickly accepted and published by the scientific journal Viruses (https://doi.org/10.3390/v14010001). It was also immediately cited by the World Health Organization in its ‘Living guidance for Clinical Management of COVID-19’ (https://www.who.int/publications/i/ item/WHO-2019-nCoV-clinical-2021-2), published in 2021, to explain the high infectivity of RBD double mutations. Omicron Mutant Strain The Omicron mutant strain, discovered in South Africa, has recently replaced the Delta variant as the dominant strain in most parts of the world. There are 18 RBD mutations in Omicron, four of which (L452R, Y478K, E484K, N501Y) are the same as in the single and double mutant strains. Similar to the increased contagiousness from single mutations to double mutations, the combination of four RBD double mutations with the 14 new RBD mutations in Omicron is likely to cause a further increased contagiousness of SARS-CoV-2. The latest Deltacron variant, which is a hybrid between the Delta mutant and the Omicron mutant, suggests that the RBD mutation may continue to play important roles in the contagiousness of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The results of our study on single and double RBD mutations have direct implications for understanding the role of these ‘typical’ RBD mutations and the new Omicron-specific RBD mutations in the rapid spread of the virus, as well as for developing new approaches to prevent their global spread. The study was supported by the Science and Technology Development Fund of Macao, the University of Macau (UM), the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of UM, and the UM Macao Talent Programme. 王山鳴教授是澳大健康科學學院教授，擁有瑞士實驗癌症研究所／瑞士洛桑大學博士學位，研究專長為癌症遺 傳和預防。 Prof San Ming Wang is a professor in FHS of UM. He holds an MD in genetics from the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research / University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He specialises in cancer genetics and prevention. 譚樂謙博士是澳大健康科學學院王山鳴教授實驗室的博士後研究員，擁有英國倫敦大學學院化學工程博士學位， 獲澳大濠江博士後奬學金，研究專長為蛋白質分子結構分析、機器學習和高通量模擬。 Dr Benjamin Tam is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof San Ming Wang’s laboratory in FHS of UM. He obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from University College London, United Kingdom. Dr Tam is a recipient of the UM Macao Postdoctoral Fellowship. He specialises in protein structure analysis, machine learning and high‑throughput simulations.
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