![]() Previous technologies that imaged these structures depicted glycans in static open or closed positions, which initially didn't draw much interest from scientists. The spike's coating of glycans helps deceive the human immune system since it comes across as nothing more than a sugary residue, according to the research. Others on the project include co-senior author Lillian Chong at the University of Pittsburgh, first author and UCSD graduate student Terra Sztain and co-first author and UCSD postdoctoral scholar Surl-Hee Ahn. If glycan gates could be pharmacologically "locked" in the closed position, then the virus is effectively prevented from opening to entry and infection. Get the NBC 7 San Diego app for iOS or Android and pick your alerts.Īmaro said she believes the research team's gate discovery opens potential avenues for new therapeutics to counter SARS-CoV-2 infection. Stay informed about local news and weather. Without this gate, the virus basically is rendered incapable of infection," said Amaro, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a senior author of the new study. "We've unlocked an important secret of the spike in how it infects cells. "We essentially figured out how the spike actually opens and infects," said UCSD's Rommie Amaro, a computational biophysical chemist, who helped develop a detailed visualization of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that efficiently latches onto our cell receptors. The research published Thursday in the journal "Nature Chemistry," described how glycans - molecules that make up a sugary residue around the edges of the spike protein - can allow the virus to enter and infect healthy human cells. A UC San Diego research team has discovered how a molecule on the outside of the SARS-Cov-2 spike protein acts as a "gate" for the virus that causes COVID-19 infection, which could help find a way to counter the virus all that's needed is a "key" to lock it, a new study says.
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