Warning: file_get_contents(https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=34064163&cmd=llinks): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 215
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 213.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534
Deprecated: Implicit conversion from float 213.6 to int loses precision in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 534 Biology+(Basel) 2021 ; 10 (6): ä Nephropedia Template TP
gab.com Text
Twit Text FOAVip
Twit Text #
English Wikipedia
Viewing SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein in Terms of Molecular Flexibility #MMPMID34064163
Matsuo T
Biology (Basel) 2021[May]; 10 (6): ä PMID34064163show ga
The latest coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia leading to the pandemic, contains 29 proteins. Among them, nucleocapsid protein (N(CoV2)) is one of the abundant proteins and shows multiple functions including packaging the RNA genome during the infection cycle. It has also emerged as a potential drug target. In this review, the current status of the research of N(CoV2) is described in terms of molecular structure and dynamics. N(CoV2) consists of two domains, i.e., the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the C-terminal domain (CTD) with a disordered region between them. Recent simulation studies have identified several potential drugs that can bind to NTD or CTD with high affinity. Moreover, it was shown that the degree of flexibility in the disordered region has a large effect on drug binding rate, suggesting the importance of molecular flexibility for the N(CoV2) function. Molecular flexibility has also been shown to be integral to the formation of droplets, where N(CoV2), RNA and/or other viral proteins gather through liquid-liquid phase separation and considered important for viral replication. Finally, as one of the future research directions, a strategy for obtaining the structural and dynamical information on the proteins contained in droplets is presented.