Open AccessInhibiting fusion with cellular membrane system: therapeutic options to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection
Author(s) -
Prasenjit Mitra
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of physiology. cell physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.432
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1522-1563
pISSN - 0363-6143
DOI - 10.1152/ajpcell.00260.2020
Subject(s) - proteases , endosome , coronavirus , lipid bilayer fusion , viral envelope , viral entry , virology , rna , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , virus , covid-19 , viral replication , medicine , gene , biochemistry , enzyme , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), an enveloped virus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome, facilitates the host cell entry through intricate interactions with proteins and lipids of the cell membrane. The detailed molecular mechanism involves binding to the host cell receptor and fusion at the plasma membrane or after being trafficked to late endosomes under favorable environmental conditions. A crucial event in the process is the proteolytic cleavage of the viral spike protein by the host's endogenous proteases that releases the fusion peptide enabling fusion with the host cellular membrane system. The present review details the mechanism of viral fusion with the host and highlights the therapeutic options that prevent SARS-CoV-2 entry in humans.