5 May 2020

Structure, Function, and Antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in >90,000 infections and >3,000 deaths. Coronavirus spike (S) glycoproteins promote entry into cells and are the main target of antibodies. We show that SARS-CoV-2 S uses ACE2 to enter cells and that the receptor-binding domains of SARS-CoV-2 S and SARS-CoV S bind with similar affinities to human ACE2, correlating with the efficient spread of SARS-CoV-2 among humans. We found that the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein harbors a furin cleavage site at the boundary between the S₁/S₂ subunits, which is processed during biogenesis and sets this virus apart from SARS-CoV and SARS-related CoVs. In the study published in Cell, David Veesler with coworkers determined cryo-EM structures of the SARS-CoV-2 S ectodomain trimer, providing a blueprint for the design of vaccines and inhibitors of viral entry. Finally, they demonstrate that SARS-CoV S murine polyclonal antibodies potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 S mediated entry into cells, indicating that cross-neutralizing antibodies targeting conserved S epitopes can be elicited upon vaccination.

8 Aug 2019

Essay on Biomembrane Structure

Christoph Gerle provides historical outline of how we arrived at our current understanding of biomembranes and the models we use to describe them in Essay on Biomembrane Structure. A selection of direct experimental findings on the nano-scale structure of biomembranes is taken up to discuss their physical nature, and special emphasis is put on the surprising insights that arise from atomic scale descriptions.

5 Aug 2019

Role of integrative structural biology in understanding transcriptional initiation

Role of integrative structural biology in understanding transcriptional initiation is discussed by Philip Robinson et. al. in a review, which presents a general background to integrative structural biology, describes of how it should be practically implemented, and shows how it has furthered our understanding of the biology of large transcriptional assemblies. 

5 Aug 2019

Frontiers in Cryo Electron Microscopy of Complex Macromolecular Assemblies

In this publication Sriram Subramaniam et. al. report on structural studies of G protein–coupled receptors, spliceosomes, and fibrillar specimens and illustrate the progress made by advanced cryo-EM methods.

1 Aug 2019

The evolution of solution state NMR pulse sequences through the ‘eyes’ of triple-resonance spectroscopy

Lewis Kay in The evolution of solution state NMR pulse sequences through the ‘eyes’ of triple-resonance spectroscopy highlights how pulse sequence ‘engineering’ has evolved during past decades with the focus on liquid state NMR applications.

30 Jul 2019

Principles for Integrative Structural Biology Studies

Guru of integrative structural biology computation Andrej Sali and Michale P. Rout summarize in the recent Cell Primer Principles for Integrative Structural Biology Studies.

Visualization of biological macromolecules at near-atomic resolution: cryo-electron microscopy comes of age

The topical review by Alok K. Mitra recapitulates developments and transformational advances of cryo-EM technology.

16 Jul 2019

The expanding toolkit for structural biology: synchrotrons, X-ray lasers and cryo-EM

Samar Hasnain et. al. describe the steadily-expanding methodologies for atomic resolution studies in The expanding toolkit for structural biology: synchrotrons, X-ray lasers and cryo-EM. Of note is the following statistics: Despite the wealth of structures in the Protein Data Bank, a closer examination reveals that 89% of the structures, i.e. 126 994, are of proteins or complexes with a molecular weight of less than 160 kDa. Furthermore, only 4% of the deposited structures have a molecular weight in excess of 300 kDa.