Research finds protein structures in lab align with COVID-19 virus characteristics

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Biochemistry, researchers have found that laboratory-manufactured viral spikes, designed to mimic those on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, are highly similar across various global laboratories.

The study, led by Professor Max Crispin, Professor of Glycobiology at the University of Southampton, extended his previous analysis of the glycan coating of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, first mapped in April 2020. The new research compared these laboratory-developed spikes to those on the infectious virus, providing valuable insights into their consistency.

The researchers used computational methods to analyze the protein features influencing glycosylation across all samples. They found that all the different batches of spike protein recapitulated the glycan signatures of the authentic virus, a finding that could have significant implications for vaccine design, antibody testing, and drug discovery.

The spikes on the SARS-CoV-2 virus are coated in sugars known as glycans, which they use to disguise themselves from the human immune system. The abundance of these glycans has the potential to create significant discrepancies between studies that use different recombinant spikes.

The study extended Crispin's analysis to examine recombinant spikes developed in laboratories at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Harvard Medical School, the University of Oxford, and the Swiss company ExcellGene. The findings showed that the spikes manufactured in these laboratories mimicked key features of the glycosylation of virions analyzed at Tsinghua University, China.

Dr. Peter Bond led the computational work at the Bioinformatics Institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. The predictive approach from the computational work could potentially be valuable in therapeutics development against new variants or other emerging viruses.

Protein "spikes" are a central component in designing serological tests and vaccines for COVID-19. The study concluded that the ability to produce mimics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with high fidelity at multiple laboratories is beneficial for these applications.

The study, with the DOI 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00279, is a significant step forward in understanding the properties of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the development of effective countermeasures against it. The researchers hope that their findings will contribute to the ongoing global effort to combat the pandemic.