荷兰莱顿大学医学中心Montserrat Bárcena课题组发现跨越冠状病毒复制细胞器双层膜的分子孔洞。该研究于2020年8月6日在线发表于《科学》。

Title: A molecular pore spans the double membrane of the coronavirus replication organelle

Author: Georg Wolff, Ronald W. A. L. Limpens, Jessika C. Zevenhoven-Dobbe, Ulrike Laugks, Shawn Zheng, Anja W. M. de Jong, Roman I. Koning, David A. Agard, Kay Grünewald, Abraham J. Koster, Eric J. Snijder, Montserrat Bárcena

Issue&Volume: 2020/08/06

Abstract: AbstractCoronavirus genome replication is associated with virus-induced cytosolic double-membrane vesicles, which may provide a tailored micro-environment for viral RNA synthesis in the infected cell. However, it is unclear how newly synthesized genomes and mRNAs can travel from these sealed replication compartments to the cytosol to ensure their translation and the assembly of progeny virions. Here, we used cellular electron cryo-microscopy to visualize a molecular pore complex that spans both membranes of the double-membrane vesicle and would allow export of RNA to the cytosol. A hexameric assembly of a large viral transmembrane protein was found to form the core of the crown-shaped complex. This coronavirus-specific structure likely plays a critical role in coronavirus replication and thus constitutes a potential drug target.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abd3629

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/05/science.abd3629