Discovery of a druggable pocket in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: New avenue to defeat COVID-19?

COVID-19 has developed into a crisis of global proportions. COVID-19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Key to SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic development is unraveling the mechanisms driving high infectivity, broad tissue tropism and severe pathology. SARS-CoV-2 is decorated by multiple copies of a glycoprotein, called Spike, which is key to infectivity. Using cryo-electron microscopy and cloud computing, we discovered a potentially druggable pocket within the SARS-CoV-2 Spike, which appears to be likewise present in the highly pathogenic coronaviruses that caused the previous SARS and MERS outbreaks. Our discovery provides, for the first time, a structural link between COVID-19 pathology and the virus itself, setting the stage for developing new therapeutic interventions to combat and defeat COVID-19.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn about the high-tech science technologies and techniques being used to defeat the global COVID-19 epidemic

2. Learn about a novel discovery of a druggable pocket in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein for drug development