In a first, scientists have modelled the formation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This major step in forming the virus will help in developing effective drugs for the deadly disease, as per research published in the journal Viruses.
Speaking on the development, Roya Zandi, a professor at the University of California in the US said that "Understanding viral assembly has always been a key step leading to therapeutic strategies."
"Numerous experiments and simulations of viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B virus have had a remarkable impact on elucidating their assembly and providing means to combat them. Even the simplest questions regarding the formation of SARS-CoV-2 remain unanswered," reported PTI quoting Zandi.
"In this paper, using coarse-grained models, we have been able to successfully model the formation of SARS-CoV-2: the N proteins condense the RNA to form the compact RNP complex, which interacts with the M proteins that are embedded in the lipid membrane," Zandi said.
Recommended For You
According to the study, in the life cycle of any virus, the packaging of its genome into new virions or virus particles is big and it was an especially challenging task for coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV-2, with their very large RNA genomes. Let us tell you that, coronaviruses have the largest genome known for a virus that uses RNA as its genetic material.
The virus SARS-CoV-2 has four structural proteins, that includes Envelope (E), Membrane (M), Nucleocapsid (N), and Spike (S) , used to enter and infect human cells. These proteins are essential for the assembly and formation of the viral envelope -- the outermost layer of the virus that protects the virus and helps facilitate entry into host cells reveals the study.
She added that "budding," which is when a part of the membrane starts to curve up, completes the virus formation. The model allowed them to explore mechanisms of protein oligomerisation, RNA condensation by structural proteins, and cellular membrane-protein interactions. It also allowed them to predict the factors that control virus assembly.
According to Zandi, the findings and their comparison with experimental observations could inform the design of effective antiviral drugs to arrest coronaviruses in the assembly stage.
"We now have a better understanding of what interactions are important for the packaging of the genome and the formation of the virus. "This is the first time we have been able to fine-tune the interaction between the genome and proteins and obtain the genome condensation and the assembly simultaneously,” she added.