Mass Spectrometry and Structural Biology Techniques in the Studies on the Coronavirus-Receptor Interaction

Molecules. 2020 Sep 10;25(18):4133. doi: 10.3390/molecules25184133.

Abstract

Mass spectrometry and some other biophysical methods, have made substantial contributions to the studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human proteins interactions. The most interesting feature of SARS-CoV-2 seems to be the structure of its spike (S) protein and its interaction with the human cell receptor. Mass spectrometry of spike S protein revealed how the glycoforms are distributed across the S protein surface. X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy made huge impact on the studies on the S protein and ACE2 receptor protein interaction, by elucidating the three-dimensional structures of these proteins and their conformational changes. The findings of the most recent studies in the scope of SARS-CoV-2-Human protein-protein interactions are described here.

Keywords: MS; SARS coronavirus; glycosylation; spike protein-ACE2 interaction; structural techniques.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
  • Betacoronavirus / chemistry*
  • Betacoronavirus / pathogenicity
  • Binding Sites
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Gene Expression
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Pandemics*
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / chemistry*
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / genetics
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / metabolism
  • Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
  • Protein Conformation, beta-Strand
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Receptors, Virus / chemistry*
  • Receptors, Virus / genetics
  • Receptors, Virus / metabolism
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology*
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / virology
  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / chemistry
  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / pathogenicity
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / chemistry*
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / genetics
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptors, Virus
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
  • spike protein, SARS-CoV-2
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A
  • ACE2 protein, human
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2