Researchers have pinpointed 69 human proteins essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication, including those needed for entry into host cells and genome replication. This study employed an advanced method to measure the individual impacts of genes in large arrays, contrasting earlier studies that analyzed changes in large cell pools. The findings indicate that some of these proteins are also significant for related coronaviruses, suggesting their potential as broad-spectrum antiviral targets. This approach could aid in developing new treatments that focus on preventing the virus's ability to replicate and spread.
SARS-CoV-2, like any virus, needs to enter the cell, start replicating its genome, and then start making all of the building blocks needed to make new progeny viruses, Hultquist said. For a lot of these processes, the virus uses our own cellular architecture, but we had an incomplete understanding of exactly which human proteins the virus was using for which stages of its replication cycle.
This research employed a more sensitive, but resource-intensive method, where the impact of each gene was measured individually in large arrays. This approach enabled scientists to measure the impact of silencing each gene in the human genome on SARS-CoV-2 replication and then map the exact stage of the viral lifecycle for which it was important.
Using this technology, the team identified 69 proteins required by the virus to replicate, including 10 required for viral entry into the host cell, 32 required for replication of the viral genome, and 27 required to assemble new viral particles.
Many of these proteins were also found to be important for the lifecycle of related coronaviruses, including other pandemic coronaviruses (like SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV) and even some seasonal coronaviruses (like OC43-CoV) that cause the common cold. This suggests that these proteins might be universal targets for broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that could treat many.
Collection
[
|
...
]