Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40208235›Full record

ArticleeLife2025

Allosteric modulation by the fatty acid site in the glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike.

A Sofia F Oliveira, Fiona L Kearns, Mia A Rosenfeld, Lorenzo Casalino, Lorenzo Tulli, Imre Berger, Christiane Schaffitzel, Andrew D Davidson, Rommie E Amaro, Adrian J Mulholland

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eLife, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

A Sofia F OliveiraCentre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8753-4950
Fiona L KearnsDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States.
Mia A RosenfeldDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States.
Lorenzo CasalinoDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States.
Lorenzo TulliCentre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1268-1217
Imre BergerSchool of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7518-9045
Christiane SchaffitzelSchool of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1516-9760
Andrew D DavidsonSchool of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1136-4008
Rommie E AmaroDepartment of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States.
Adrian J MulhollandCentre for Computational Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1015-4567

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/W003449/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/X009831/1European Research Council 10.3030/101021207Medical Research Council MR/Y004205/1Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego Health NSF RAPID MCB-2032054Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 10.35802/106115Wellcome Trust 10.35802/210701
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The spike protein is essential to the SARS-CoV-2 virus life cycle, facilitating virus entry and mediating viral-host membrane fusion. The spike contains a fatty acid (FA) binding site between every two neighbouring receptor-binding domains. This site is coupled to key regions in the protein, but the impact of glycans on these allosteric effects has not been investigated. Using dynamical nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (D-NEMD) simulations, we explore the allosteric effects of the FA site in the fully glycosylated spike of the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral variant. Our results identify the allosteric networks connecting the FA site to functionally important regions in the protein, including the receptor-binding motif, an antigenic supersite in the N-terminal domain, the fusion peptide region, and another allosteric site known to bind heme and biliverdin. The networks identified here highlight the complexity of the allosteric modulation in this protein and reveal a striking and unexpected link between different allosteric sites. Comparison of the FA site connections from D-NEMD in the glycosylated and non-glycosylated spike revealed that glycans do not qualitatively change the internal allosteric pathways but can facilitate the transmission of the structural changes within and between subunits.

Indexed as

Fatty AcidsSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAllosteric RegulationAllosteric SiteBinding SitesCOVID-19GlycosylationHumansMolecular Dynamics SimulationProtein BindingFatty AcidsSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2allosterybiochemistrychemical biologycomputational biologyfatty acidsglycansnonequilibrium simulationsSARS-CoV-2 spikesystems biologyviruses

Identifiers

PMID40208235
PMCPMC11984958

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.