Coronavirus: What SARS-CoV-2 genome propagated

The mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes are considered to be the gateway for the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. When a person is infected with the novel Virus, multiplies the pathogen in the cells rapidly. Researchers have now found out how the Coronavirus replicates its genetic material.

Numerous corona virus is circulating that can infect people constantly and usually only mild respiratory disease cause. Also infections with the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 run, in many cases, relatively harmless. Of new pathogens but can also induce a severe disease of the respiratory tract, the COVID-19 is called. A research team now reports how the Virus replicates its genetic material.

Coronavirus genome consists of around 30,000 blocks

A person with the novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is infected, it multiplies in its cells rapidly. To do this, the pathogen has to reproduce its genetic material, consisting of a long RNA strand. This task is the viral “copy machine”, Polymerase, called does.

According to a recent communication from scientists to Patrick Cramer from the göttingen Max-Planck-Institute for biophysical chemistry have discovered now, the spatial structure of the Corona-Polymerase.

According to explore, such as anti-viral substances that block the Polymerase. One of them is Remdesivir, a promising ingredient in the development of new drugs against COVID-19. In addition, new drug candidates can be searched.

“In the face of the current pandemic, we wanted to help,” explains the Max Planck Director Cramer. “We have extensive experience to examine polymerases.” So the research topic was for the experts on Hand.

“The most Surprising for us was that the structure of the Coronavirus-copy falls machine from the series, because it differs from other Polymerase structures,” says Hauke Hillen.

According to the scientists, the Corona-Polymerase binds in such a way in the RNA, as it is of other virus species are known, however, this Polymerase has a further Element, with the help of you clings to the RNA until it has copied the genetic material.

This is just for the Coronavirus is important, because its genome consists of around 30,000 blocks, and is therefore particularly long, the Copy is a real mammoth task.

Knowledge is shared quickly with the international research community

To know how the Coronavirus Polymerase, one Atom at a time is constructed, opens up new possibilities to understand the Virus better and to fight. In the next step, the research team wants to examine in more Detail how anti-viral substances to block the growth of corona virus.

“On Remdesivir blocks in the Corona-Polymerase directly, rest the hopes of many. By means of the Polymerase structure, it might be possible to optimize already existing substances, such as Remdesivir and to improve their effectiveness. But we also want a Declaration under the new substances look for, which can stop the Virus Polymerase“, Cramer.

Have published their results, the researchers from göttingen in a manuscript to the Preprint Server bioRxiv. “We wanted to share our findings immediately with the international research community, because it must now go to where we are in the midst of the pandemic, especially quickly,” reported Lucas Farnung, which will switch soon to a professorship at the American Harvard University.

Hope for new therapy strategies

As it says in the message, was the way the three-dimensional structure of the Corona-Polymerase rocky. “First of all, we have to recreate the Polymerase from three purified proteins in a test tube. After some experimentation, she was finally able to function,“ explains Goran Kokic. “The only way we were able to examine how she works.”

The researchers had established on a special Test, to be able to the activity of the Polymerase can be determined.

After the experts studied the samples in the electron microscope at 100,000-fold magnification, and the first disappointment was widespread: “Although we had taken ten days and nights of round-the-clock images, we were able to gain detailed insights into the structure,” says Christian serving man, an expert in electron microscopy.

“However, the sample looked different, somehow strange. Our first thought was to throw it out. Fortunately, we have not done that: Ironically, this sample has provided us with the quality of the data that we wanted,“ explained Dimitry Tegunov, data processing expert of the group, has also programmed the Software to process quickly large quantities of image data.

According to data, the decryption of the Polymerase is not intended to be structural, the last contribution of the göttingen-based researchers to tackle the pandemic:

“We also have the so-called helper factors in the visor, the change in the Virus RNA so that they cannot be broken down by the human immune system,” says Cramer. “And of course, we hope as a structural biologist, to find more points of attack on the Virus, the medium-term, new therapeutic strategies are open.” (ad)