COVID Research

Much of the early work in cryo-EM was focused on solving the 3D structure of important viruses. With the new coronavirus structure in the headlines, we thought it would be helpful to point out a number of the structural biologists whose work has contributed to the rapid pace of research on coronaviruses.

We would like to congratulate all the researchers for their tremendous efforts. The Gatan team takes great pride in the instrumentation that helps to accelerate this research.

More Information?

S ARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 binds the ribosomal mRMA channel to inhibit translation
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - September 9, 2020

Molecular architecture of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Cell - September 3, 2020

In situ structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike reveals flexibility mediated by three hinges
Solved with the BioQuantum K3 System
bioRxiv - June 26, 2020

Distinct conformational states of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein Solved with the BioQuantum™ K3^® System Science - July 21, 2020 Cryo-EM structures of the COVID-19 spike protein in prefusion and postfusion conformations solved with Gatan equipment Distinct conformational states of spike protein help scientists understand how the COVID-19 virus evades the immune system and enters human cells The structures of spike protein conformational states allow the development of vaccine strategies
Structures, conformations, and distributions of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein trimers on intact virions bioRxiv - June 27, 2020 The spike protein of the COVID-19 virus is a highly flexible protein. The conformational flexibility of spike protein protects the COVID-19 virus from the immune system and allows viral entry in human cells Structures obtained from expressed and purified spike protein might provide limited information on its flexibility Cryo-EM structures of spike protein conformational states obtained from intact frozen viruses and solved with Gatan equipment provides valuable information for vaccine development
Potent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies directed to multiple epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 spike Solved with the K3 Direct Detection Camera bioRxiv - June 17, 2020 Virus-neutralizing antibodies are one of the approaches to treat or prevent infection by the COVID-19 virus The COVID-19 spike protein is the key target of virus-neutralizing antibodies Scientist are using Gatan equipment to study the binding of virus-neutralizing antibodies to the COVID-19 spike protein Cryo-EM structures allow optimization of virus-neutralizing antibodies as potential therapeutic agents against the COVID-19 virus
C ross-neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by a human monoclonal SARS-CoV antibody Nature - May 18, 2020 Antibodies are the bodies way to neutralize disease agents Vaccines are designed to teach the body how to make antibodies Antibodies can be purified and used as a drug Cryo-EM structure from Gatan equipment allows the design and optimization of both vaccines and antibodies
Structure of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from COVID-19 virus *Science* - May 15, 2020 Preliminary results show remdesivir reduces recovery time for patients who receive the drug A structure, solved by cryo-EM using Gatan equipment, shows how remdesivir blocks virus replication Remdesivir can be improved/optimized to better target COVID-19 using structure-based drug design
Structure of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from COVID-19 virus *Science* - April 10, 2020 The “spike” protein is the key target for vaccine and drug development efforts Patent was filed for a vaccine based on this structure US Patent US20200061185A1 / US2017/058370 Pending Vaccine in Clinical Trials with encouraging results https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04283461 "The K3 camera not only gave us great images…, it also prevented data collection from becoming a bottleneck, ultimately letting our team concentrate on getting the structure as quickly as possible” - UT Austin Lead Scientist
W hat the structure of the coronavirus can tell us *Washington Post article* - March 23, 2020 Understanding the coronavirus structure is important to build an effective vaccine or therapeutic. Identify the target structure, mechanism, and dynamics involved in the disease Precisely model an inhibitor (vaccine or therapeutic) and improve the effectiveness against the disease Account for mutations that “drift” or “shift” a therapeutics' efficacy over time Reduce side effects
Structural basis for the recognition of the SARS-CoV-2 by full-length human ACE2 Solved with the K3 Direct Detection Camera Science- March 27, 2020 COVID-19 is pulled into cells after binding to a surface receptor Understanding how it binds, at an atomic resolution, allows us to design drugs to block this from happening K3 Camera helped this team solve this structure in record time

Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation
Prepared with the Solarus^® Plasma Cleaner and solved with the K3 Direct Detection Camera
Press release – February 19, 2020


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