Cited by 3,661SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchAnimal Virus Infections StudiesEnzyme Structure and Function

Structural basis of receptor recognition by SARS-CoV-2

Open access
Shang, Jian, Ye, Gang, Shi, Ke, Wan, Yushun, Luo, Chuming, Aihara, Hideki, Geng, Qibin, Auerbach, Ashley +1 more·2020·Nature

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Abstract

A novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) recently emerged and is rapidly spreading in humans, causing COVID-19 1,2. A key to tackling this pandemic is to understand the receptor recognition mechanism of the virus, which regulates its infectivity, pathogenesis and host range. SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV recognize the same receptor-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-in humans 3,4. Here we determined the crystal structure of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (engineered to facilitate crystallization) in complex with ACE2. In comparison with the SARS-CoV RBD, an ACE2-binding ridge in SARS-CoV-2 RBD has a more compact conformation; moreover, several residue changes in the SARS-CoV-2 RBD stabilize two virus-binding hotspots at the RBD-ACE2 interface. These structural features of SARS-CoV-2 RBD increase its ACE2-binding affinity. Additionally, we show that RaTG13, a bat coronavirus that is closely related to SARS-CoV-2, also uses human ACE2 as its receptor. The differences among SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and RaTG13 in ACE2 recognition shed light on the potential animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This study provides guidance for intervention strategies that target receptor recognition by SARS-CoV-2.

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  • ACE2 had been identified as the receptor for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

    “Importantly, ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) had been identified as the receptor for SARS-CoV 4,5 and SARS-CoV-2.”

    From COVID-19, Myocarditis and Pericarditis (2023) · cites this paper as [8]

  • The ACE2 interaction surface is a small 25-amino-acid patch at the apex of spike, presented to ACE2 when the RBD swings upward.

    “The ACE2 interaction surface is a small 25-amino-acid patch at the apex of spike, presented to ACE2 when the RBD swings upward”

    From Antibody evasion by the P.1 strain of SARS-CoV-2 (2021) · cites this paper as Shang et al., 2020

  • The RBD interacts with ACE2, which is expressed on diverse cell types including cells in the upper and lower respiratory tracts, allowing SARS-CoV-2 to cause respiratory infection.

    “The RBD interacts with the cellular receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is expressed on diverse cell types, including cells in the upper and lower respiratory tracts, allowing SARS-CoV-2 to cause respiratory infection.”

    From Antibody evasion by the P.1 strain of SARS-CoV-2 (2021) · cites this paper as Shang et al., 2020

  • The S2 subunit comprises FP, HR, CH, CD, TMD, CT, and is responsible for mediating fusion between virus and host cell membrane.

    “The S2 subunit comprises the fusion peptide (FP), double heptad repeat (HR), central helix region (CH), connector domain (CD), transmembrane domain (TMD), and cytoplasmic tail (CT), and the S2 subunit is responsible for mediating the fusion between the virus and the host cell membrane233–236”

    From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [234]

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [17]Lan J Crystal structure of the 2019-nCoV spike receptor-binding domain bound with the ACE2 receptor. bioRxiv, 2020.2002.2019.956235, doi: 10.1101/2020.02.19.956235 (2020). · DOI

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Authors
Shang, J., Ye, G., Shi, K., Wan, Y., Luo, C., Aihara, H., Geng, Q., Auerbach, A., & Li, F.
Affiliations
University of Minnesota (US)
Corresponding author
Li, Fang
Venue
Nature
Published
2020-03-30
Volume
581
Issue
7807
Pages
221-224
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W3013800395
Cited by
3,661
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 90 · 2025: 172 · 2024: 261 · 2023: 386 · 2022: 699 · 2021: 1140 · 2020: 910 · 2019: 1 · 2012: 1
FWCI
102.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE‐ AC02‐06CH11357, AC02‐06CH11357, S10OD021527, contract DE-AC02-06CH11357, 06CH11357, DE-AC02-)
  • National Institutes of Health (1s10od021527-01, DE-AC02–06CH11357)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R35GM118047, P30GM124165)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI110700, R01AI089728)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Virus Infections Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Enzyme Structure and Function
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2, spike protein receptor-binding domain, ACE2, receptor recognition, host-virus interaction, RaTG13, SARS-CoV, binding affinity, animal-to-human transmission, COVID-19 pandemic, crystal structure
MeSH terms
Protein Domains, Eutheria, Betacoronavirus, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Animals, Binding Sites, China, Chiroptera, Crystallization, Disease Reservoirs, Humans, Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A, Models, Molecular, Pneumonia, Viral, Protein Binding, Receptors, Virus, Zoonoses, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Infections, Crystallography, X-Ray, Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, Protein Stability, Pandemics, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

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