Leondios G. Kostrikis

Last updated
Leondios G. Kostrikis
Born (1963-04-20) April 20, 1963 (age 61)
Nicosia, Cyprus
NationalityCypriot
Known forRole of human genetics in HIV-1 transmission and AIDS disease progression
AwardsFulbright Scholar, Member of Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts, Member of Academia Europaea
Scientific career
FieldsMolecular Virology
Institutions University of Cyprus

Leondios G. Kostrikis (born April 20, 1963) is a molecular virologist from Cyprus and a professor of molecular virology at the University of Cyprus. He is a founding member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts and a member of Academia Europaea. In 2022, he attracted media attention with the news of having found a "Deltacron" Coronavirus variant, a recombinant between Delta and Omicron strains. The emergence of this phenomenon initially evoked scepticism, characterized by concerns primarily centered around contamination or coinfection as plausible etiological contributors. These hypotheses were predominantly disseminated through unsubstantiated assertions within the realms of social and mass media, lacking concurrent scientific evidence to validate their claims. Comparable observations on a global scale dispelled doubt, eventually leading to the recognition of Delta-Omicron variants by the scientific community and their subsequent monitoring by the World Health Organization.

Contents

Early life and education

Kostrikis was born in Cyprus. [1] He received his scientific education in Biochemistry from New York University. In 1987, he received his B.Sc. degree, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. In 1993, he received his Ph.D. from the same university [1]

Career

He moved to Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC) to do HIV-1 research. In 1999, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Rockefeller University. [1] In 2003, he returned to Cyprus. He became Head of Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology and Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Cyprus. [1] In 2019, he was elected as a Founding Member (Biological Sciences) of The Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts and in 2020, he was elected as Member of the Biosciences Steering Panel of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Engineering and Technology Institute (IETI). In 2020, he received the Cyprus Distinguished Researcher Award in Life Sciences from the Research and Innovation Foundation in Cyprus. In 2024, he was elected as a Member of The Academia Europaea (Academy of Europe) in the Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

SARS-CoV-2 Deltacron hybrid variant

Following the emergence of COVID-19 Omicron variant, Kostrikis announced in January 2022 in local TV [2] that his Cypriot health research team in Nicosia had found a new COVID-19 variant dubbing it "Deltacron". [3] Following the initial announcement, indiscriminate news of the COVID-19 hybrid variant dubbed "Deltacron" spread quickly in mainstream media. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Maria Van Kerkhove (WHO's COVID-19 Technical Leader), Krutika Kuppalli (member of WHO's COVID-19 Technical Team) and Thomas Peacock, a postdoctoral fellow (Imperial College London) challenged this announcement, saying a lab mistake was a more probable explanation for Cyprus lab's finding, although they did not provide any experimental data refuting the finding. [8] Initially, some journalists have argued, without providing any experimental data, that it is most likely the result of a lab contamination, which purportedly shares specific properties with two different strains. [9] [10] Kostrikis' team has published a peer-reviewed study, providing experimental data that confirms the original observation about Deltacron was correct. [11] Additionally, substantial scientific evidence has been produced since then, supporting the existence of Deltacron (Delta-Omicron) viruses, characterized by Delta (AY.4, AY.x) and Omicron (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.x) variants, which have been identified and verified by various laboratories around the world. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

Dan Hung Barouch is an American physician, immunologist, and virologist. He is known for his work on the pathogenesis and immunology of viral infections and the development of vaccine strategies for global infectious diseases. His research led to the development of vaccine candidates for HIV, Zika, influenza, tuberculosis, monkeypox, and COVID-19, including the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. He was named the founding director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and is a founding member and a steering committee member at the Ragon Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transmission of COVID-19</span> Mechanisms that spread coronavirus disease 2019

The transmission of COVID-19 is the passing of coronavirus disease 2019 from person to person. COVID-19 is mainly transmitted when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets/aerosols and small airborne particles containing the virus. Infected people exhale those particles as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Transmission is more likely the closer people are. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 in mink</span>

Both the American mink and the European mink have shown high susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 since the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, first in mink farms across Europe, followed by mink farms in the United States. Mortality has been extremely high among mink, with 35–55% of infected adult animals dying from COVID-19 in a study of farmed mink in the U.S. state of Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variants of SARS-CoV-2</span> Notable variants of SARS-CoV-2

Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are viruses that, while similar to the original, have genetic changes that are of enough significance to lead virologists to label them separately. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some have been stated, to be of particular importance due to their potential for increased transmissibility, increased virulence, or reduced effectiveness of vaccines against them. These variants contribute to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant</span> Variant of the virus SARS-CoV-2

The Gamma variant (P.1) was one of the variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been named lineage P.1 and has 17 amino acid substitutions, ten of which in its spike protein, including these three designated to be of particular concern: N501Y, E484K and K417T. It was first detected by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) of Japan, on 6 January 2021 in four people who had arrived in Tokyo having visited Amazonas, Brazil, four days earlier. It was subsequently declared to be in circulation in Brazil. Under the simplified naming scheme proposed by the World Health Organization, P.1 was labeled Gamma variant, and was considered a variant of concern until March 2022, when it was largely displaced by the delta and omicron variants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UB-612</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

UB-612 is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by United Biomedical Asia, and Vaxxinity, Inc. It is a peptide vaccine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant</span> Variant of SARS-CoV-2 detected late 2020

The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India on 5 October 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated in June 2021 that the Delta variant was becoming the dominant strain globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V-01</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

V-01 is a protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by a subsidiary of Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Sigal</span> Virologist, biologist

Alex Sigal is a South Africa–based virologist at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work concentrates on emerging viruses. His laboratory was the first to isolate the live Omicron BA sub variant and the live Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 first detected in South Africa. Sigal’s laboratory was also the first to report results on the ability of the Omicron variant to escape antibody neutralization in individuals who had two doses of the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine as well as from previous infections, with results also suggesting that vaccination combined with a booster or previous infection can offer protection from symptomatic infection with Omicron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant</span> Variant of SARS-CoV-2

The Lambda variant, also known as lineage C.37, is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in Peru in August 2020. On 14 June 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) named it Lambda variant and designated it as a variant of interest. On 16 March 2022, the WHO has de-escalated the Lambda variant to "previously circulating variants of concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus nucleocapsid protein</span> Most expressed structure in coronaviruses

The nucleocapsid (N) protein is a protein that packages the positive-sense RNA genome of coronaviruses to form ribonucleoprotein structures enclosed within the viral capsid. The N protein is the most highly expressed of the four major coronavirus structural proteins. In addition to its interactions with RNA, N forms protein-protein interactions with the coronavirus membrane protein (M) during the process of viral assembly. N also has additional functions in manipulating the cell cycle of the host cell. The N protein is highly immunogenic and antibodies to N are found in patients recovered from SARS and COVID-19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus spike protein</span> Glycoprotein spike on a viral capsid or viral envelope

Spike (S) glycoprotein is the largest of the four major structural proteins found in coronaviruses. The spike protein assembles into trimers that form large structures, called spikes or peplomers, that project from the surface of the virion. The distinctive appearance of these spikes when visualized using negative stain transmission electron microscopy, "recalling the solar corona", gives the virus family its main name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccine clinical research</span> Clinical research to establish the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19 vaccine clinical research uses clinical research to establish the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines. These characteristics include efficacy, effectiveness, and safety. As of November 2022, 40 vaccines are authorized by at least one national regulatory authority for public use:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noora (vaccine)</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

Noora is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in collaboration with Plasma Darman Sarv Sepid Co. in Iran. Introduced in June 2021, it was announced as having "successfully passed the first phase of its clinical trial" two months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant</span> Type of the virus first detected in November 2021

Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world. Following the original B.1.1.529 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged including: BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5. Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 called BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have emerged.

Sikhulile M. Moyo is a Zimbabwean virologist working as the laboratory director of the Botswana–Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership in Gaborone. He is a research associate in immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In November 2021, Moyo and his laboratory were the first to identify the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. In 2022, Moyo was listed in the Time 100 list.

William Paul Duprex is a British scientist and advocate for vaccines and global health. He serves as director of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. Duprex holds the Jonas Salk Chair in Vaccine Research. He is also a professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of General Virology, which is published by the Microbiology Society, and a senior editor of mSphere, published by the American Society for Microbiology. Duprex is an expert in measles and mumps viruses and studies viral spillover from animals to humans, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Duprex is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S-268019</span> Vaccine candidate against COVID-19

S-268019-b is a protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Shionogi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunit Kumar Singh</span>

Indian Molecular Virologist

Events in the year 2022 in Cyprus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Leondios G. Kostrikis, Ph.D." Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  2. ↑ Dr. Christian Kretschmer (Arzt) (31 January 2022). "Supervariante Deltakron gibt es nicht – Fehler durch Kontamination". Gelbe Liste (in German).
  3. ↑ Georgiou, Georgios (January 8, 2022). "Cyprus Finds Covid-19 Infections That Combine Delta and Omicron". Bloomberg News . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  4. ↑ Lee, Bruce Y. (March 12, 2022). "New 'Deltacron' Covid-19 Coronavirus Variant Is A Recombinant Of Delta And Omicron". Forbes . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  5. ↑ Snider, Mike (March 10, 2022). "There may be a new COVID variant, Deltacron. Here's what we know about it". USA Today . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  6. ↑ Khan, Amir (January 17, 2022). "'Deltacron': Should we worry about new COVID-19 variants merging?". Al Jazeera . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  7. ↑ Zimmer, Carl (March 11, 2022). "New 'Deltacron' Variant Is Rare and Similar to Omicron, Experts Say". The New York Times . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ Kreier, Freda (January 21, 2022). "Deltacron: the story of the variant that wasn't". Nature . 602 (7895): 19. Bibcode:2022Natur.602...19K. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00149-9. PMID   35058630 . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. ↑ Lapid, Nancy (March 9, 2022). "Variant that combines Delta and Omicron identified; dogs sniff out virus with high accuracy". Reuters . Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  10. ↑ Gubernator, Sebastian (2022-01-10). "Experten halten angeblichen "Demikron"-Nachweis für Laborfehler" (in German). Die Welt, cited via MSN. Retrieved 2022-01-11. Translation: Experts say the "Demikron" finding is a lab mistake
  11. ↑ Chrysostomou, Andreas C.; Vrancken, Bram; Haralambous, Christos; Alexandrou, Maria; Gregoriou, Ioanna; Ioannides, Marios; Ioannou, Costakis; Kalakouta, Olga; Karagiannis, Christos; Marcou, Markella; Masia, Christina; Mendris, Michail; Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Patsalis, Philippos C.; Pieridou, Despo (2023-09-15). "Unraveling the Dynamics of Omicron (BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5) Waves and Emergence of the Deltacton Variant: Genomic Epidemiology of the SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic in Cyprus (Oct 2021-Oct 2022)". Viruses. 15 (9): 1933. doi: 10.3390/v15091933 . ISSN   1999-4915. PMC   10535466 . PMID   37766339.
  12. ↑ Wang, Liang; F. Gao, George (2022). "The 'Wolf' Is Indeed Coming: Recombinant 'Deltacron' SARS-CoV-2 Detected". China CDC Weekly. 4 (14): 285–287. doi:10.46234/ccdcw2022.054. PMC   9008264 . PMID   35433090.
  13. ↑ Karbalaei, Mohsen; Keikha, Masoud (July 2022). "Deltacron is a recombinant variant of SARS-CoV-2 but not a laboratory mistake". Annals of Medicine & Surgery. 79. doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104032. PMC   9212869 . PMID   35757314.
  14. ↑ Liu, Li-Teh; Tsai, Jih-Jin; Chu, Justin Jang Hann; Chen, Chun-Hong; Chen, Liang-Jen; Lin, Ping-Chang; Tsai, Ching-Yi; Hsu, Miao-Chen; Chuang, Wan-Long; Hwang, Shang-Jyh; Chong, Inn-Wen (June 2023). "The identification and phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV -2 delta variants in Taiwan". The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences. 39 (6): 624–636. doi: 10.1002/kjm2.12665 . PMID   36951529.
  15. ↑ Sant’Anna, Fernando Hayashi; Finger Andreis, Tiago; Salvato, Richard Steiner; Muterle Varela, Ana Paula; Comerlato, Juliana; Gregianini, Tatiana Schäffer; Barcellos, Regina Bones; de Souza Godinho, Fernanda Marques; Resende, Paola Cristina; da Luz Wallau, Gabriel; y Castro, Thaís Regina; Casarin, Bruna Campestrini; de Almeida Vieira, Andressa; Schwarzbold, Alexandre Vargas; de Arruda Trindade, Priscila; Tumioto Giannini, Gabriela Luchiari; Freese, Luana; Bristot, Giovana; Brasil, Carolina Serpa; de Oliveira Rocha, Bruna; Martins, Paloma Bortolini; de Oliveira, Francine Hehn; van Oosterhout, Cock; Wendland, Eliana (February 2023). "Incipient Parallel Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Deltacron Variant in South Brazil". Vaccines. 11 (2): 212. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11020212 . PMC   9961971 . PMID   36851091.
  16. ↑ Sant’Anna, Fernando Hayashi; Finger Andreis, Tiago; Salvato, Richard Steiner; Muterle Varela, Ana Paula; Comerlato, Juliana; Gregianini, Tatiana Schäffer; Barcellos, Regina Bones; de Souza Godinho, Fernanda Marques; Resende, Paola Cristina; da Luz Wallau, Gabriel; y Castro, Thaís Regina; Casarin, Bruna Campestrini; de Almeida Vieira, Andressa; Schwarzbold, Alexandre Vargas; de Arruda Trindade, Priscila; Tumioto Giannini, Gabriela Luchiari; Freese, Luana; Bristot, Giovana; Brasil, Carolina Serpa; de Oliveira Rocha, Bruna; Martins, Paloma Bortolini; de Oliveira, Francine Hehn; van Oosterhout, Cock; Wendland, Eliana (February 2023). "Incipient Parallel Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Deltacron Variant in South Brazil". Vaccines. 11 (2): 212. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11020212 . PMC   9961971 . PMID   36851091.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.