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Cryo-EM structure of the SARS coronavirus spike glycoprotein in complex with its host cell receptor ACE2

Open access
Song, Wenfei, Gui, Miao, Wang, Xinquan, Xiang, Ye·2018·PLOS Pathogens

Abstract

The trimeric SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) surface spike (S) glycoprotein consisting of three S1-S2 heterodimers binds the cellular receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and mediates fusion of the viral and cellular membranes through a pre- to postfusion conformation transition. Here, we report the structure of the SARS-CoV S glycoprotein in complex with its host cell receptor ACE2 revealed by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The complex structure shows that only one receptor-binding domain of the trimeric S glycoprotein binds ACE2 and adopts a protruding "up" conformation. In addition, we studied the structures of the SARS-CoV S glycoprotein and its complexes with ACE2 in different in vitro conditions, which may mimic different conformational states of the S glycoprotein during virus entry. Disassociation of the S1-ACE2 complex from some of the prefusion spikes was observed and characterized. We also characterized the rosette-like structures of the clustered SARS-CoV S2 trimers in the postfusion state observed on electron micrographs. Structural comparisons suggested that the SARS-CoV S glycoprotein retains a prefusion architecture after trypsin cleavage into the S1 and S2 subunits and acidic pH treatment. However, binding to the receptor opens up the receptor-binding domain of S1, which could promote the release of the S1-ACE2 complex and S1 monomers from the prefusion spike and trigger the pre- to postfusion conformational transition.

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Metadata

Authors
Song, W., Gui, M., Wang, X., & Xiang, Y.
Venue
PLOS Pathogens
Published
2018-08-13
Volume
14
Issue
8
Pages
e1007236
ISSN
  • 1553-7366 (ISSN-L)
  • 1553-7374
OpenAlex
W2886321229
Cited by
834
References
9
FWCI
104.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Cryo-EM structure of the SARS coronavirus spike glycoprotein in complex with its host cell receptor ACE2. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007236
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Song, W., Gui, M., Wang, X., & Xiang, Y. (2018). Cryo-EM structure of the SARS coronavirus spike glycoprotein in complex with its host cell receptor ACE2. PLOS Pathogens. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007236

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