Biologists designed a screening method to understand how short stretches of amino acids short linear motifs (SLiMs) selectively bind to certain proteins, and distinguish between binding partners with similar structures.
February 15, 2021 Researchers have identified interactions between short viral proteins and receptors that facilitate the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into a host. This evidence of molecular links, published in
Science Signaling on February 12, may help scientists identify drugs that are highly effective at blocking the virus.
SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor to attach to host cells. ACE2 is a single-pass type I membrane protein with a short cytosolic C-terminal region. While SARS-CoV-2 primarily binds to ACE2 in the lungs, previous studies have revealed that there is very little ACE2 gene expression in normal lungs, suggesting that the ACE2 receptor is insufficient on its own to establish severe lung disease.