• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . Structural basis for mouse receptor recognition by SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A


. 2022 Nov;119(44):e2206509119.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2206509119. Epub 2022 Oct 18.
Structural basis for mouse receptor recognition by SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant


Wei Zhang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Ke Shi[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Qibin Geng[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Gang Ye[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hideki Aihara[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fang Li[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]



Affiliations

Abstract

The sudden emergence and rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant has raised questions about its animal reservoir. Here, we investigated receptor recognition of the omicron's receptor-binding domain (RBD), focusing on four of its mutations (Q493R, Q498R, N501Y, and Y505H) surrounding two mutational hotspots. These mutations have variable effects on the RBD's affinity for human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), but they all enhance the RBD's affinity for mouse ACE2. We further determined the crystal structure of omicron RBD complexed with mouse ACE2. The structure showed that all four mutations are viral adaptations to mouse ACE2: three of them (Q493R, Q498R, and Y505H) are uniquely adapted to mouse ACE2, whereas the other one (N501Y) is adapted to both human ACE2 and mouse ACE2. These data reveal that the omicron RBD was well adapted to mouse ACE2 before omicron started to infect humans, providing insight into the potential evolutionary origin of the omicron variant.

Keywords: COVID-19; X-ray crystallography; mouse angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; omicron variant; receptor-binding domain (RBD).
 
Back
Top Bottom