7LC8

SARS-CoV-2 spike Protein TM domain

Summary for 7LC8

• Entry DOI: 10.2210/pdb7lc8/pdb
• NMR Information: BMRB: 30842
• Descriptor: Spike protein S2' (1 entity in total)
• Functional Keywords: coronavirus, sars, covid 19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, viral protein
• Biological source: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (2019-nCoV)
• Total number of polymer chains: 3
• Total formula weight: 6602.11

Authors

Fu, Q.,Chou, J.J. (deposition date: 2021-01-10, release date: 2021-06-23, Last modification date: 2024-05-15)

Primary citation

Fu, Q.,Chou, J.J.
A Trimeric Hydrophobic Zipper Mediates the Intramembrane Assembly of SARS-CoV-2 Spike.
J.Am.Chem.Soc., 143:8543-8546, 2021

PubMed Abstract: The S protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a type I membrane protein that mediates membrane fusion and viral entry. A vast amount of structural information is available for the ectodomain of S, a primary target by the host immune system, but much less is known regarding its transmembrane domain (TMD) and its membrane-proximal regions. Here, we determined the NMR structure of the S protein TMD in bicelles that closely mimic a lipid bilayer. The TMD structure is a transmembrane α-helix (TMH) trimer that assembles spontaneously in a membrane. The trimer structure shows an extensive hydrophobic core along the 3-fold axis that resembles that of a trimeric leucine/isoleucine zipper, but with tetrad, not heptad, repeats. The trimeric core is strong in bicelles, resisting hydrogen-deuterium exchange for weeks. Although highly stable, structural guided mutagenesis identified single mutations that can completely dissociate the TMD trimer. Multiple studies have shown that the membrane anchors of viral fusion proteins can form highly specific oligomers, but the exact function of these oligomers remains unclear. Our findings should guide future experiments to address the above question for SARS coronaviruses.

PubMed: 34086443
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c02394

Experimental method

SOLUTION NMR