The glycan on the spike protein or the key for the new coronavirus to enter the cell

The glycan on the spike protein or the key for the new coronavirus to enter the cell

The glycan on the spike protein or the key for the new coronavirus to enter the cell glycan on the spike protein or the key for the new coronavirus to enter the cell

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, September 2 (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) According to a recent study published in eLife magazine, scientists simulated the transformation process of the new coronavirus spike protein from recognition to entry into the host cell, and found that the spike protein on the Glycan may be the key to the virus entering the cell, and destroying this structure may be a strategy to prevent the virus from spreading
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This discovery provides a basis for studying the dynamic factors affecting the new coronavirus

An important aspect of the new coronavirus life cycle is that the virus has the ability to attach to host cells and transfer its genetic material
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It achieves this goal through a spike protein, which consists of three separate parts: a transmembrane bundle that anchors the spike to the virus, and two S subunits (S1 and S2)

"Most of the current treatment strategies and vaccines focus on the ACE2 recognition step of virus invasion, but another strategy is to target structural changes in the fusion of viruses and human host cells
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" Co-author of the research paper, Rice University Physics Professor and co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biophysics, Jose Onuic explained

It is extremely difficult to detect these intermediate transient structures experimentally, so this research uses a simplified computer simulation to capture the dynamic changes of the S2 subunit shape before and after fusion
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The researchers performed thousands of simulations using a model based on the structure of all atoms
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The simulation shows that glycans form a "cage" that captures the "head" of the S2 subunit, so that the S2 subunit is suspended between the separation of the S1 subunit to the fusion virus and the cell membrane

The simulation also showed that keeping the S2 head in a specific position helps the S2 subunit "recruit" human host cells and fuse with their cell membranes, because it allows short proteins called fusion peptides to be extended from the virus.

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In fact, the glycosylation of S2 significantly increases the possibility of the fusion peptide extending to the host cell membrane, which is extremely unlikely when glycans are lacking

Overall, this study shows that the glycan of the spike protein can cause a temporary pause during the conversion of the spike protein
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This provides a key opportunity for the fusion peptide to capture the host cell.

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