EMBL scientists identify human proteins hijacked by coronavirus, offering potential drug targets
EMBL scientists used a biophysical method called thermal proteome profiling (TPP) to gain a comprehensive overview of which human proteins are functionally altered at different times during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Credit: Holly Joynes/EMBL
A group of scientists led by EMBL’s Mikhail Savitski, Nassos Typas, and Pedro Beltrao, and collaborator Steeve Boulant at Heidelberg University Hospital, have analysed how the novel coronavirus affects proteins in human cells. They identified several human proteins as potential drug targets to prevent viral replication.
The researchers used a biophysical method called thermal proteome profiling (TPP) to gain a comprehensive overview of which human proteins are functionally altered during SARS-CoV-2 infection. TPP monitors protein amounts and denaturation temperatures – the points at which proteins heat up so much that they lose their 3D structure. A shift in denaturation temperature indicates that a particular protein has undergone a functional change upon infection, possibly due to the virus hijacking the protein for use in its own replication.