Science China Life Sciences publishes a review of new coronavirus protein research

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) that broke out at the end of 2019 has continued to sweep the world and has caused more than four million deaths, posing a great threat to human health
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The research on targeted drugs and vaccines against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the focus and difficulty of scientific researchers, and it is also an urgent need to fight the global new crown epidemic
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At present, no specific method has been found to combat SARS-CoV-2.
A comprehensive and systematic analysis of the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus protein will help increase the efficiency of the development of drugs and effective vaccines guided by the protein structure
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Academician Gao Fu from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences published an online review article entitled "Overview of SARS-CoV-2 genome-encoded proteins" in Science China Life Sciences (English version of "Science China: Life Sciences"), systematically expounding the current The SARS-CoV-2 encoded protein was analyzed, and the structure, biological function and potential drug design targets of each protein were discussed in depth
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Figure 1 The structure of the non-structural protein encoded by SARS-CoV-2 Figure 2 The structure of the structural protein and accessory protein encoded by SARS-CoV-2 SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the β-coronavirus genus, which is a positive single-stranded RNA package Membrane virus
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After SARS-CoV-2 infects cells, it uses its own RNA genome as a template for translation.
The 29 proteins translated can be divided into 3 categories: 16 nonstructural proteins, 4 structural proteins, and 9 Accessory protein
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This article focuses on the biological functions and potential drug design targets of SARS-CoV-2 proteins in mediating virus invasion of host cells, viral genome replication, protein translation and modification, virus assembly and release, and escape host immune monitoring.
Point
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At the end of the article, it is pointed out that structural biology provides timely and effective guidance for the evaluation of the efficacy of antiviral drugs, the selection of technical routes for vaccine research and development, and the traceability of viruses
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A postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr.
Bai Chongzhi from Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Zhong Qiming from Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine are the co-first authors of this article
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For details of the research, please read the original text▼[click the link below or read the original text] Bai, C.
, Zhong, Q.
, and Gao, GF (2021).
Overview of SARS-CoV-2 genome-encoded proteins.
Sci China Life Sci 64, https://doi.
org/10.
1007/s11427- 021-1964-4