Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38791489›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2024

In Silico Analyses Indicate a Lower Potency for Dimerization of TLR4/MD-2 as the Reason for the Lower Pathogenicity of Omicron Compared to Wild-Type Virus and Earlier SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

Ralf Kircheis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Host Responses to SARS-CoV-2 with an Emphasis on Cytokines.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
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  5. Article
  6. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Ralf KircheisSyntacoll GmbH, 93342 Saal an der Donau, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4863-6705

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants have replaced all earlier variants, due to increased infectivity and effective evasion from infection- and vaccination-induced neutralizing antibodies. Compared to earlier variants of concern (VoCs), the Omicron variants show high TMPRSS2-independent replication in the upper airway organs, but lower replication in the lungs and lower mortality rates. The shift in cellular tropism and towards lower pathogenicity of Omicron was hypothesized to correlate with a lower toll-like receptor (TLR) activation, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remained undefined. In silico analyses presented here indicate that the Omicron spike protein has a lower potency to induce dimerization of TLR4/MD-2 compared to wild type virus despite a comparable binding activity to TLR4. A model illustrating the molecular consequences of the different potencies of the Omicron spike protein vs. wild-type spike protein for TLR4 activation is presented. Further analyses indicate a clear tendency for decreasing TLR4 dimerization potential during SARS-CoV-2 evolution via Alpha to Gamma to Delta to Omicron variants.

Indexed as

COVID-19Lymphocyte Antigen 96Protein MultimerizationSARS-CoV-2Toll-Like Receptor 4Computer SimulationHumansProtein BindingSpike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusLY96 protein, humanLymphocyte Antigen 96Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2TLR4 protein, humanToll-Like Receptor 4COVID-19cytokine stormmyeloid differentiation factor-2 (MD-2)NF-kappa BOmicronSARS-CoV-2spike proteinTLR4/MD-2toll-like receptor (TLR)

Identifiers

PMID38791489
PMCPMC11121871

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.