Study identifies SARS-CoV-2 spike conformation exposing potential new therapeutic targets
Researchers in the United States have demonstrated that the viral spike protein used by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to infect host cells adopts an open conformation exposing novel epitopes that could serve as targets for therapeutic strategies to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The currently approved COVID-19 vaccines and many clinical diagnostic techniques are based on the SARS-CoV-2 spike ectodomain that stabilizes the protein in the prefusion conformation.
Now, a team from the University of California in Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in San Francisco have identified a new conformation exposing the conserved trimer interface that is otherwise buried in the prefusion state.