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Spike (S) glycoprotein (sometimes also called spike protein, [2] formerly known as E2 [3]) is the largest of the four major structural proteins found in coronaviruses. [4] The spike protein assembles into trimers that form large structures, called spikes or peplomers, [3] that project from the surface of the virion.
For this reason the spike protein has been the focus of development for COVID-19 vaccines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. [11] [12] A subgenus of the betacoronaviruses, known as embecoviruses (not including SARS-like coronaviruses), have an additional shorter surface protein known as hemagglutinin esterase. [13]
The envelope (E) protein is the smallest and least well-characterized of the four major structural proteins found in coronavirus virions. [2] [3] [4] It is an integral membrane protein less than 110 amino acid residues long; [2] in SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, the E protein is 75 residues long. [5]
Structure of a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are large, roughly spherical particles with unique surface projections. [43] Their size is highly variable with average diameters of 80 to 120 nm. Extreme sizes are known from 50 to 200 nm in diameter. [44] The total molecular mass is on average 40,000 kDa.
M is a glycoprotein whose glycosylation varies according to coronavirus subgroup; N-linked glycosylation is typically found in the alpha and gamma groups while O-linked glycosylation is typically found in the beta group. [8] [9] There are some exceptions; for example, in SARS-CoV, a betacoronavirus, the M protein has one N-glycosylation site.
[2] [3] The N protein is the most highly expressed of the four major coronavirus structural proteins. [2] In addition to its interactions with RNA, N forms protein-protein interactions with the coronavirus membrane protein (M) during the process of viral assembly. [2] [3] N also has additional functions in manipulating the cell cycle of the ...
When the coronavirus infects cells, it not only impairs their activity but can also change their function, new findings suggest. For example, when insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas ...
The genetic material of a virus is stored within a viral protein structure called the capsid. The capsid is a "shield" that protects the viral nucleic acids from getting degraded by host enzymes or other types of pesticides or pestilences. It also functions to attach the virion to