Insights on COVID-19 vaccine, mAb development from spike protein structure

A UT Austin and NIH Vaccine Research Center team has uncovered the structure of the COVID-19 spike protein, which mediates viral entry into cells via membrane fusion. The findings, published in a Science paper Wednesday, could guide vaccine and mAb development for the new coronavirus.

To generate the spike protein's structure, the researchers introduced mutations that locked it into a conformation that binds host cells. Next, the University of Texas at Austin team plans to identify neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus using conformation-stabilized spike...