In situ structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike reveals flexibility mediated by three hinges

  1. Beata Turoňová
  2. Mateusz Sikora
  3. Christoph Schürmann
  4. Wim J. H. Hagen
  5. Sonja Welsch
  6. Florian E. C. Blanc
  7. Sören von Bülow
  8. Michael Gecht
  9. Katrin Bagola
  10. Cindy Hörner
  11. Ger van Zandbergen
  12. Jonathan Landry
  13. Nayara Trevisan Doimo de Azevedo
  14. Shyamal Mosalaganti
  15. Andre Schwarz
  16. Roberto Covino
  17. Michael D. Mühlebach
  18. Gerhard Hummer
  19. Jacomine Krijnse Locker
  20. Martin Beck

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Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein enables viral entry into host cells by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and is a major target for neutralizing antibodies. About 20 to 40 spikes decorate the surface of virions. Turoňová et al. now show that the spike is flexibly connected to the viral surface by three hinges that are well protected by glycosylation sites. The flexibility imparted by these hinges may explain how multiple spikes act in concert to engage onto the flat surface of a host cell.

Science , this issue p. 203

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  1. Version published to 10.1126/science.abd5223
  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.06.26.173476v2 on bioRxiv
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    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

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    • No funding statement was detected.
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  4. Version published to 10.1101/2020.06.26.173476v1 on bioRxiv