This COVID-19 event has been created by a combination of computational inference (see https://reactome.org/documentation/inferred-events) from SARS-CoV-1 data and manual curation, as described in the summation for the overall SARS-CoV-2 infection pathway.SARS-CoV-2 spike (S3a) protein, as a component of the S3:M:E:encapsidated SARS coronavirus genomic RNA: 7a:O-glycosyl 3a tetramer complex, binds to glycosylated angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) associated with the human host cell plasma membrane. Structural studies of the interaction between human ACE2 protein and the receptor-binding domain of S3a protein have identified key amino acid residues in both proteins responsible for their high-affinity interaction. These residues may be a key factor determining severity (and possibly human-to-human transmission) of SARS-CoV-2 (Li et al. 2003, 2005). The roles of S protein in viral binding to the host cell membrane and fusion of viral and host cell membranes and thus the central role of S protein in determining the host range and tissue tropisms of the virus are reviewed by Belouzard et al. (2012).
Li, F, Li, W, Farzan, M, Harrison, SC
Li, W, Moore, MJ, Vasilieva, N, Sui, J, Wong, SK, Berne, MA, Somasundaran, M, Sullivan, JL, Luzuriaga, K, Greenough, TC, Choe, H, Farzan, M
Belouzard, S, Millet, JK, Licitra, BN, Whittaker, GR
Zhang, H, Penninger, JM, Li, Y, Zhong, N, Slutsky, AS
© 2021 Reactome
