Insights into the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 main protease autocatalytic maturation from model precursors.

ABSTRACT: A critical step for SARS-CoV-2 assembly and maturation involves the autoactivation of the main protease (MPro^WT) from precursor polyproteins. Upon expression, a model precursor of MPro^WT mediates its own release at its termini rapidly to yield a mature dimer. A construct with an E290A mutation within MPro exhibits time dependent autoprocessing of the accumulated precursor at the N-terminal nsp4/nsp5 site followed by the C-terminal nsp5/nsp6 cleavage. In contrast, a precursor containing E290A and R298A mutations (MPro^M) displays cleavage only at the nsp4/nsp5 site to yield an intermediate monomeric product, which is cleaved at the nsp5/nsp6 site only by MPro^WT. MPro^M and the catalytic domain (MPro^1-199) fused to the truncated

SUBMITTER: Aniana A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10643566 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature