Instruct: Identify the main category of Biorxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Remdesivir and GS-441524 retain antiviral activity against Delta, Omicron, and other emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants Genetic variation of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the emergence and rapid spread of multiple variants throughout the pandemic, of which Omicron is currently the predominant variant circulating worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern or interest (VOC/VOI) have evidence of increased viral transmission, disease severity, or decreased effectiveness of vaccines and neutralizing antibodies. Remdesivir (RDV, VEKLURY(R)) is a nucleoside analog prodrug and the first FDA-approved antiviral treatment of COVID-19. Here we present a comprehensive antiviral activity assessment of RDV and its parent nucleoside, GS-441524, against 10 current and former SARS-CoV-2 VOC/VOI clinical isolates by nucleoprotein ELISA and plaque reduction assay.

Delta and Omicron variants remained susceptible to RDV and GS-441524, with EC50 values 0.31 to 0.62-fold of those observed against the ancestral WA1 isolate. All other tested variants exhibited EC50 values ranging from 0.15 to 2.3-fold of the observed EC50 values against WA1. Analysis of nearly 6 million publicly available variant isolate sequences confirmed that Nsp12, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) target of RDV and GS-441524, is highly conserved across variants with only 2 prevalent changes (P323L and G671S). Using recombinant viruses, both RDV and GS-441524 retained potency against all viruses containing frequent variant substitutions or their combination. Taken together, these results highlight the conserved nature of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp12 and provide evidence of sustained SARS-CoV-2 antiviral activity of RDV and GS-441524 across the tested variants. The observed pan-variant activity of RDV supports its continued use for the treatment of COVID-19 regardless of the SARS-CoV-2 variant.
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The categories of this paper are: physiology
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The categories of this paper are: communication
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The categories of this paper are: toxicology
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The categories of this paper are: bioinformatics
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The categories of this paper are: immunology
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The categories of this paper are: pathology
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The categories of this paper are: bioengineering
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The categories of this paper are: biophysics
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The categories of this paper are: and
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The categories of this paper are: synthetic
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The categories of this paper are: paleontology
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The categories of this paper are: epidemiology
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The categories of this paper are: genomics
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The categories of this paper are: cell
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The categories of this paper are: cancer
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The categories of this paper are: scientific