N-terminal domain of the S1 subunit of the Spike (S) protein from Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and related betacoronaviruses in the B lineage
This subfamily contains the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the S1 subunit of the Spike (S) proteins from betacoronaviruses in the sarbecovirus subgenera (B lineage), including the highly pathogenic human coronavirus (CoV), Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, also known as a 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or COVID-19 virus. The CoV S protein is an envelope glycoprotein that plays the most important role in viral attachment, fusion, and entry into host cells, and serves as a major target for the development of neutralizing antibodies, inhibitors of viral entry, and vaccines. It is synthesized as a precursor protein that is cleaved into an N-terminal S1 subunit (~700 amino acids) and a C-terminal S2 subunit (~600 amino acids) that mediates attachment and membrane fusion, respectively. Three S1/S2 heterodimers assemble to form a trimer spike protruding from the viral envelope. The S1 subunit contains a receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the S2 subunit contains a hydrophobic fusion peptide and two heptad repeat regions. S1 contains two structurally independent domains, the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the C-terminal domain (C-domain). Depending on the virus, either the NTD or the C-domain can serve as the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Most CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, use the C-domain to bind their receptors. The S1 NTD contributes to the Spike trimer interface.
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