More Is Always Better Than One: The N-Terminal Domain of the Spike Protein as Another Emerging Target for Hampering the SARS-CoV-2 Attachment to Host Cells.
Int J Mol Sci
; 22(12)2021 Jun 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1273456
ABSTRACT
Although the approved vaccines are proving to be of utmost importance in containing the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat, they will hardly be resolutive as new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, a single-stranded RNA virus) variants might be insensitive to the immune response they induce. In this scenario, developing an effective therapy is still a dire need. Different targets for therapeutic antibodies and diagnostics have been identified, among which the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein, particularly its receptor-binding domain, has been defined as crucial. In this context, we aim to focus attention also on the role played by the S N-terminal domain (S1-NTD) in the virus attachment, already recognized as a valuable target for neutralizing antibodies, in particular, building on a cavity mapping indicating the presence of two druggable pockets and on the recent literature hypothesizing the presence of a ganglioside-binding domain. In this perspective, we aim at proposing S1-NTD as a putative target for designing small molecules hopefully able to hamper the SARS-CoV-2 attachment to host cells.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
/
SARS-CoV-2
Topics:
Vaccines
/
Variants
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijms22126462
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