The atomic portrait of SARS‐CoV‐2 as captured by cryo‐electron microscopy

• Published in: Journal of cellular and molecular medicine Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 25 - 34
• Main Authors: Fertig, Tudor Emanuel, Chitoiu, Leona, Terinte‐Balcan, George, Peteu, Victor‐Eduard, Marta, Daciana, Gherghiceanu, Mihaela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-01-2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - chemistry; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - immunology; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - metabolism; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - biosynthesis; Antibodies, Viral - chemistry; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Vaccines - administration & dosage; COVID-19 Vaccines - biosynthesis; COVID-19 Vaccines - chemistry; Cryoelectron Microscopy; cryo‐electron microscopy; cryo‐electron tomography; Disease transmission; Epitopes - chemistry; Epitopes - immunology; Epitopes - metabolism; Genomes; Humans; Laboratories; Microscopy; Models, Molecular; Mutation; Pandemics; Protein Binding; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; Protein Structure, Secondary; Proteins; Receptors, Virus - chemistry; Receptors, Virus - immunology; Receptors, Virus - metabolism; Records & achievements; Review; Reviews; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; SARS-CoV-2 - pathogenicity; SARS-CoV-2 - ultrastructure; SARS‐CoV‐2; Serine Endopeptidases - chemistry; Serine Endopeptidases - immunology; Serine Endopeptidases - metabolism; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; single‐particle analysis; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - chemistry; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - metabolism; structural biology; Structure-function relationships; Transmission electron microscopy; Virion - drug effects; Virion - pathogenicity; Virion - ultrastructure; Viruses; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; structural biology; cryo-electron tomography; cryo-electron microscopy; single-particle analysis
• ISSN: 1582-1838; 1582-4934
• DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17103

Transmission electron microscopy has historically been indispensable for virology research, as it offers unique insight into virus function. In the past decade, as cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) has matured and become more accessible, we have been able to peer into the structure of viruses at the atomic level and understand how they interact with the host cell, with drugs or with antibodies. Perhaps, there was no time in recent history where cryo‐EM was more needed, as SARS‐CoV‐2 has spread around the globe, causing millions of deaths and almost unquantifiable economic devastation. In this concise review, we aim to mark the most important contributions of cryo‐EM to understanding the structure and function of SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins, from surface spikes to the virus core and from virus‐receptor interactions to antibody binding.