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Review
. 2020 Sep;41(9):1141-1149.
doi: 10.1038/s41401-020-0485-4. Epub 2020 Aug 3.

Structural and functional properties of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: potential antivirus drug development for COVID-19

Yuan Huang  1 , Chan Yang  1 , Xin-Feng Xu  1 , Wei Xu  2 , Shu-Wen Liu  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Structural and functional properties of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: potential antivirus drug development for COVID-19

Yuan Huang et al. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 is a newly emerging infectious disease currently spreading across the world. It is caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, which plays a key role in the receptor recognition and cell membrane fusion process, is composed of two subunits, S1 and S2. The S1 subunit contains a receptor-binding domain that recognizes and binds to the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, while the S2 subunit mediates viral cell membrane fusion by forming a six-helical bundle via the two-heptad repeat domain. In this review, we highlight recent research advance in the structure, function and development of antivirus drugs targeting the S protein.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 virus; antibodies; antivirus drugs; fusion inhibitors; host proteases inhibitors; spike protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Schematic of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein.
a The schematic structure of the S protein. b The S protein binds to the receptor ACE2. c The binding and virus–cell fusion process mediated by the S protein. d The life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in host cells.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein.
a Schematic representation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike. b–c The S protein RBD closed and opened status. d The S protein binds to ACE2 with opened RBD in the S1 subunit. e The six-helix structure formed by HR1 and HR2 of the S2 subunit.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Potential drugs targeting the SARS-CoV-2 S protein.
a Potential mAbs targeting various epitopes of the S protein. b Summary of current SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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