Site-Specific Steric Control of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycosylation.

ABSTRACT: A central tenet in the design of vaccines is the display of native-like antigens in the elicitation of protective immunity. The abundance of N-linked glycans across the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is a potential source of heterogeneity among the many different vaccine candidates under investigation. Here, we investigate the glycosylation of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins from five different laboratories and compare them against S protein from infectious virus, cultured in Vero cells. We find patterns that are conserved across all samples, and this can be associated with site-specific stalling of glycan maturation that acts as a highly sensitive reporter of protein structure. Molecular dynamics simulations of a fully glycosylated spike support a model of steric restrictions that shape e

SUBMITTER: Allen JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8262170 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature