Structural Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike N-Terminal Domain Across Wild-Type and Recent Variants: A Comparative Study.

ABSTRACT: Since its first appearance in China, the molecular evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has progressed through altering the properties of the Spike protein, changing the virus ability to transmit and to evade host immune surveillance. Despite receiving less attention than the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD), the Spike N-Terminal Domain (NTD) is crucial to SARS-CoV-2 biology and pathogenesis. This study provides a comparative structural analysis of the NTD from the wild-type strain and different variants (BA.2, XBB.1, XBB.1.5, BA.2.86, JN.1, HV.1, KP.2, KP.3, and KP.3.1.1), aiming to clarify the structural impact of mutations in each variant. To assess the impact of mutations on the interaction of NTD with antibodies, we selected as a test case the neutralizing antibody 4A8, which has proven highly effect

SUBMITTER: Quaranta M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12517252 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature