Biochem Biophys Res Commun . Functional importance of the D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

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Biochem Biophys Res Commun


. 2020 Nov 13;S0006-291X(20)32074-X.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.11.026. Online ahead of print.
Functional importance of the D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein


Cody B Jackson ¹ , Lizhou Zhang ² , Michael Farzan ² , Hyeryun Choe ²



Affiliations

• PMID: 33220921
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.11.026

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an enveloped virus which binds its cellular receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and enters hosts cells through the action of its spike (S) glycoprotein displayed on the surface of the virion. Compared to the reference strain of SARS-CoV-2, the majority of currently circulating isolates possess an S protein variant characterized by an aspartic acid-to-glycine substitution at amino acid position 614 (D614G). Residue 614 lies outside the receptor binding domain (RBD) and the mutation does not alter the affinity of monomeric S protein for ACE2. However, S(G614), compared to S(D614), mediates more efficient ACE2-mediated transduction of cells by S-pseudotyped vectors and more efficient infection of cells and animals by live SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes and synthesizes the epidemiological and functional observations of the D614G spike mutation, with focus on the biochemical and cell-biological impact of this mutation and its consequences for S protein function. We further discuss the significance of these recent findings in the context of the current global pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Spike protein.