Cold sensitivity of the SARS-CoV-2 spike ectodomain.

Robert J EdwardsKatayoun MansouriVictoria StallsKartik ManneBrian WattsRob ParksKatarzyna JanowskaSophie M C GobeilMegan KoppDapeng LiXiaozhi LuZekun MuMargaret DeytonThomas H OguinJordan SprenzWilton WilliamsKevin SaundersDavid MontefioriGregory D SempowskiRory HendersonMunir AlamBarton F HaynesPriyamvada Acharya

Published in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2020)

The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, a primary target for COVID-19 vaccine development, presents its Receptor Binding Domain in two conformations: receptor-accessible "up" or receptor-inaccessible "down" conformations. Here, we report that the commonly used stabilized S ectodomain construct "2P" is sensitive to cold temperature, and that this cold sensitivity is resolved in a "down" state stabilized spike. Our results will impact structural, functional and vaccine studies that use the SARS-CoV-2 S ectodomain.

Keyphrases

sars cov
respiratory syndrome coronavirus
binding protein
coronavirus disease
protein protein
amino acid