Weaponizing Part of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Against Itself to Prevent Infection

ROCKVILLE, MD – The virus that causes COVID-19, called SARS-CoV-2, uses its spike protein in order to stick to and infect our cells. The final step for the virus to enter our cells is for part of its spike protein to act like a twist tie, forcing the host cell’s outer membrane to fuse with the virus. Kailu Yang, in the lab of Axel Brunger, colleagues at Stanford University, and collaborators at University of California Berkely, Harvard Medical School, and University of Finland have generated a molecule based on the twisted part of the spike protein (called HR2), which sticks itself onto the virus and prevents the spike protein from twisting.

Surge of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in China and USA Further Emphasizes Need for Surveillance, Preparedness, and International Collaborations

Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, President of the Global Virus Network (GVN), Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at the University of South Florida and Professor of the Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters today issued a statement on the surge of SARS-CoV-2.

Virus that causes COVID-19 can find alternate route to infect cells

The virus that causes COVID-19 normally gets inside cells by attaching to a protein called ACE2. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a single mutation confers the ability to enter cells through another route, which may threaten the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics designed to block the standard route of entry.