Clues to COVID-19 coronavirus’s vulnerability emerge from an antibody against SARS

ARANK

A Scripps Research study reveals a likely site of vulnerability on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.April 03, 2020LA JOLLA, CA —An antibody recovered from a survivor of the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s has revealed a potential vulnerability of the new coronavirus at the root of COVID-19, according to a study from scientists at Scripps Research.The study, published today in Science, is the first to map a human antibody’s interaction with the new coronavirus at near-atomic-scale resolution. Although the antibody was produced in response to an infection of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which is caused by the SARS-CoV virus, it cross-reacts with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.The structural mapping revealed a nearly identical site on both coronaviruses to which the antibody binds, suggesting a functionally important and vulnerable site for this family of coronaviruses.“The knowledge of conserved sites like this can aid in structure-based design of vaccines and therapeutics against…