(Image: Pixabay CC0)
(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Like many viruses, SARS-CoV-2 relies on lipid modifications carried by host enzymes to organize their membrane structure and coordinate the function of virulence proteins. Scientists at EPFL have discovered the enzymes that transfer fatty acids to one of the main components of SARS-CoV-2, its fusion protein Spike. The findings reveal that such fatty acids are important for the production of infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles, and can help develop new drugs for treating coronaviruses and other viruses like herpes and influenza. Developing new pharmaceutical strategies against viral infections, critically depends on our understanding of the structures and proliferation mechanisms of the pathogens involved. A team of researchers from EPFL's School of Life Sciences has made a breakthrough study on SARS-CoV-2 that opens up the way for new anti-viral targets. The work is published in Developmental Cell . "We have known for decades that membrane proteins of enveloped viruses undergo lipidation, and more specifically S-acylation - also known as palmitoylation," says Professor Gisou van der Goot, who led the study.
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