ArticleViruses2026
Mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Phosphorylation-Induced Functional Switch.
Article in Viruses, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Direct interaction between human DDX1 and SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is regulated by phosphorylation.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- Intramolecular loops control SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein self-association and nucleic acid binding dependent on phosphorylation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Rewriting the viral script: post-translational modifications orchestrating SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and immune evasion.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (Np) is essential for viral RNA replication and genomic RNA packaging. Phosphorylation of Np within its central Ser-Arg-rich (SRR) linker is proposed to modulate these functions. To gain mechanistic insights into these distinct roles, we performed in vitro biophysical and biochemical studies using recombinantly expressed ancestral Np and phosphomimetic SRR variants. Limited-proteolysis showed minor cleavage differences between wild-type (WT) and phosphomimetic Np, but no major structure or stability changes in the N- and C-terminal domains were observed by circular dichroism spectroscopy and differential scanning fluorimetry, respectively. Mass photometry (MP) revealed that WT Np dimerized more readily than phosphomimetic variants. Crosslinking-MP showed that WT Np formed discrete complexes on viral 5' UTR stem-loop (SL) 5 RNA, whereas phosphomimetic Np assembled preferentially on SL1-4. WT Np bound non-specifically to all RNAs tested primarily via hydrophobic interactions, whereas phosphomimetic Np showed selectivity for SARS-CoV-2-derived RNAs despite binding more electrostatically. A major difference was observed in the binding kinetics; WT Np compacted and irreversibly bound single-stranded DNA, whereas phosphomimetic Np displayed reduced compaction and fast on/off binding kinetics. These mechanistic insights support a model where phosphorylated Np functions in RNA replication and chaperoning, while non-phosphorylated Np facilitates genomic RNA packaging. The findings also help to explain infectivity differences and clinical outcomes associated with SRR linker variants.
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Registered trials
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