Question

essay outlining a few experiments to investigate the potential role of the cytoskeleton (and associated motor proteins) in coronovirus infection.Your proposed experiments will be aimed at determining which, if any, cytoskeletal elements and/7or motor proteins are involved in the infection, replication and dispersal of viral progeny. In this essay, clearly describe the experiments you propose, the cultured cells or tissues you will test, drugs you will use to target specific cytoskeletal elements, and the microscopic & biochemical techniques you intend to employ

What is the structure of the virus? What is the role of the spike (S) glycoprotein in viral infection?

• Does the virus depend on receptormediated endocytosis for entry into the host cell? If so, to what cell surface receptor(s) does the virus bind? Do endosomes play a role in viral transport, and if so, what is the intracellular path of the virus through the endomembrane system?

Answer 1

Structure of Corona Virus

Role of spike S glycoprotein

Helps the virus to attach or bind with host cell receptor.

The virus depend on receptor mediated endocytosis for entry into the host cell. The viruses bind to the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE 2) recetors on the cell surface.

Endosomes play a role in viral transport.

The entry of enveloped viruses into cells is known to occur via two primary pathways: some viruses deliver their genomes to the cytosol after their envelopes fuse with the plasma membrane at the cell surface, whereas others take advantage of the cell's endocytic machinery. In the latter mechanism, the endocytosed virions are subjected to an activation step in the endosome, which is typically mediated by the acidic endosomal pH, resulting in fusion of the viral and endosomal membranes and release of the viral genome into the cytosol. Therefore, the endocytic mechanism is thought to be a pH-sensitive process, while direct membrane fusion is pH-independent. The endocytic pathways exploited by animal viruses to gain entry into host cells include macropinocytosis, clathrin-dependent endocytosis, and caveolae-dependent endocytosis, as well as poorly characterized routes such as clathrin- and caveolae-independent endocytosis.