Coronavirus Spike (S) Protein: A Brief Review on Structure-Function Relationship, Host Receptors, and Role in Cell Infection
Lidiane Pereira de Albuquerque, Leydianne Leite de Siqueira Patriota, Vitor Gonzatto, Emmanuel Viana Pontual, Patrícia Maria Guedes Paiva, Thiago Henrique Napoleão
Advances in Research · pp. 116–124 · Published 28 Aug 2020
10.9734/air/2020/v21i930240Abstract
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a broad group of spherical and enveloped viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. CoVs have become a major threat to public health in the past two decades, exemplified by epidemics of acute respiratory syndromes and, most recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The envelope of CoVs contains spike (S) proteins, which are transmembrane proteins with a crown-like shape involved in cell attachment, cell‒cell fusion, host tropism, and pathogenesis. The receptors for spike proteins in host cells can be glycans and proteins. This review approaches the structural and functional aspects of the S protein of CoVs. Several issues are presented, including the structure‒function relationship, examples of host receptors, S protein-host cell connection, and its role in the entry of the virus into host cells. The S protein is one of the main targets of studies on the evolutionary relationships between CoVs, mapping of cross-host transmission events, changes in virulence, variations in disease severity level, and the development of therapeutic strategies and vaccines.
Cited by 7
Héloïse Leroy, Mingyu Han, Marie Woottum · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2020
Muhammad Waqar Mazhar, Ahmad Raza, Tayyaba shaheen · Sensors International · 2022
Radheshyam Pal, Prashant Kumar, Ekta Khare · Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets · 2025
A. C. Aquino, L. L. Tayo · Springer Proceedings in Materials · 2022
Soodeh Enayati, Mohammad M. Ranjbar, Soodeh Hooshmandi · Advanced Biomedical Research · 2023
Srividhya Venkataraman · Vaccines · 2022
Showing 6 of 7 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- COVID 19 Disease Caused by Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) — shares topic coverage
- Analyses of the Spike Proteins of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronaviruses — shares topic coverage
- Predictors of Death for Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in the First Year of the Pandemic in Northern Brazil - A Retrospective Study — shares topic coverage
- Clinical Profile, Comorbidities, and Outcome of the Unvaccinated and Hospitalized for COVID-19 in Northern Brazil: Retrospective Cohort — shares topic coverage
- COVID 19 Omicron: The Origin, Presentation, Diagnosis, Prevention and Control — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
23
Page views
0
PDF downloads
4
Outbound clicks
7
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.