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2023-10-10
Research highlights

Interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with host cells and antibodies: experiment and simulation

Chem. Soc. Rev. 2023, 52 (18), 6497-6553

SARS-CoV-2 Life Cycle and How Antibodies Bind to and Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Entry into Human Cells

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the primary etiological agent responsible for the catastrophic global COVID-19 pandemic, as officially declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. This pandemic has infected more than 700 million people and claimed the lives of more than 70 million people worldwide. In Poland, there are about 6.5 million infected people and 120 thousand deaths. Notable scientific endeavors have yielded a suite of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and antibodies, resulting in the preservation of countless lives (The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Hungarian scientist Katalin Karikó and American scientist Drew Weissman for their revolutionary invention to develop an effective mRNA vaccine to prevent Covid-19). Nevertheless, the fight against COVID-19 continues as immune escape variants of concern such as Delta and Omicron emerge. To develop more effective treatments and to elucidate the side effects caused by vaccines and therapeutic agents, a deeper understanding of the molecular interactions of SARS-CoV-2 with them and human cells is required. With special interest in computational approaches, in this we will focus on the structure of SARS-CoV-2 and the interaction of its spike protein with human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) as a prime entry point of the virus into host cells. In addition, other possible viral receptors will be considered. The fusion of viral and human membranes and the interaction of the spike protein with antibodies and nanobodies will be discussed, as well as the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on protein synthesis in host cells.


Publications

Hung Nguyen, Hoang Linh Nguyen, Pham Dang Lan, Nguyen Quoc Thai, Mateusz Sikora & Mai Suan Li

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How soluble misfolded proteins bypass chaperones at the molecular level

Nat. Commun. 2023, 14 (1), 3689

Subpopulations of soluble, misfolded proteins can bypass chaperones within cells. The extent of this phenomenon and how it happens at the molecular level are unknown. Through a meta-analysis of the experimental literature we find that in all quantitative protein refolding studies there is always...

Excited-state singlet–triplet inversion in hexagonal aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds

 Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 21875-21882

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/cp/d3cp01666h

Publication selected by Editors as a 2023 HOT PCCP article.

Ab initio computations performed by physicists from IF PAS and Technical University of Munich indicate on existence of a wide class of organic molecules with inverted sequence of the lowest singlet and triplet states. This discovery may have important consequences for construction of a new genera...

Carbon Oxide Decomposition as a Novel Technique for Ultrahigh Quality ZnO Nanowire Crystallization

Cryst. Growth Des. 2023, 23, 9, 6442–6449

By modifying the classic method of growing ZnO nanowires, we were able to achieve an exceptionally high level of structural and optical quality in individual ZnO nanowires. The half-width of the exciton bound to the donor measured an unprecedented 0.5 meV. Thermodynamic calculations, based on equ...
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