Immediately after the infection of a cell in the throat or lungs, the SARS-CoV-2 virus works very hard to replicate, using the human cell's metabolic pathways to produce its proteins and make sure that its genetic material (the RNA genome) is copied.
SARS-CoV-2: The grasping fingers of the viral N protein medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SARS-CoV-2 viruses manage to hijack human cells with a minimum of their own proteins and use them as incubators for their offspring. One of these multifunctional viral proteins is the nucleocapsid protein (N), which plays a key role in viral replication and packaging. Researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered how N recognizes both viral RNA in general as well as specific RNA positions with the help of “fingers”. In the latter, N adapts to the increased temperature of the host cell. It might be the case that SARS-CoV-2 uses the fever we develop in the course of an infection to switch from virus replication to virus release.
SARS-CoV-2: Achilles heel of viral RNA miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: Scientists Martin Hengesbach (left) und Andreas Schlundt at the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometre at Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany. view more
Credit: Uwe Dettmar for Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany
FRANKFURT. When the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates, this initially only means that there is a change in its genetic blueprint. The mutation may lead, for example, to an amino acid being exchanged at a particular site in a viral protein. In order to quickly assess the effect of this change, a three-dimensional image of the viral protein is extremely helpful. This is because it shows whether the switch in amino acid has consequences for the function of the protein - or for the interaction with a potential drug or antibody.