COVID-19 Virus Spike Protein Flexibility Improved by Human Cell's Own Modifications
Published:06 Jul.2022 Source:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
When the coronavirus causing COVID-19 infects human cells, the cell's protein-processing machinery makes modifications to the spike protein that render it more flexible and mobile, which could increase its ability to infect other cells and to evade antibodies, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found.
The researchers created an atomic-level computational model of the spike protein and ran multiple simulations to examine the protein's dynamics and how the cell's modifications affected those dynamics. This is the first study to present such a detailed picture of the protein that plays a key role in COVID-19 infection and immunity, the researchers said.