Synthetic virions reveal fatty acid-coupled adaptive immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 infection is a major global public health concern with incompletely understood pathogenesis. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein comprises a highly conserved free fatty acid binding pocket (FABP) with unknown function and evolutionary selection advantage^1,2. Deciphering FABP impact on COVID-19 progression is challenged by the heterogenous nature and large molecular variability of live virus. Here we create synthetic minimal virions (MiniVs) of wild-type and mutant SARS-CoV-2 with precise molecular composition and programmable complexity by bottom-up assembly. MiniV-based systematic assessment of S free fatty acid (FFA) binding reveals that FABP functions as an allosteric regulatory site enabling adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 immunogenicity to inflammation states via bind

SUBMITTER: Staufer O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8844029 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature