Prediction of Escape Mutants (PREMUS)
Project leader: Prof. Dr. Stefan Dübel
Key area
- Antiviral strategies: agents and vaccines, antibodies
Who is involved?
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Dübel (Project leader, TU Braunschweig)
- Prof. Dr. Michael Hust (TU Braunschweig)
- Prof. Dr. Luka Čičin-Šain (HZI)
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Pöhlmann (DPZ)
What is the aim?
The PREMUS project analyses which mutations in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein SARS-CoV-2 protect against neutralisation by antibodies. For this purpose, mutagenesis of the spike gene, construction of phage display libraries with millions of RBD variants and sequential selection are used to identify spike variants that are no longer bound by antibodies. Using this approach, the effects of potential future mutations on the efficacy of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies can already be determined.