Full-Length Computational Model of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Its Implications for a Viral Membrane Fusion Mechanism.

ABSTRACT: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has now become one of the greatest causes of infectious death and morbidity since the 1918 flu pandemic. Substantial and unprecedented progress has been made in the elucidation of the viral infection process in a short time; however, our understanding of the structure-function dynamics of the spike protein during the membrane fusion process and viral uptake remains incomplete. Employing computational approaches, we use full-length structural models of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein integrating Cryo-EM images and biophysical properties, which fill the gaps in our understanding. We propose a membrane fusion model incorporating structural transitions associated with the proteolytic processing of the spike protein, which initiates and regulates a series of events to facilita

SUBMITTER: Nishima W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8230804 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature