The Main Protease of SARS-CoV2: Finding drug candidates with X-rays
“With the ending –ase you can always assume that it is a really bad protein that breaks something else.”
My cell biology professor in the first semester of my biology degree
As the study of biology progresses, one naturally learns that the above statement – quoted freely from my memory – is not always entirely true. But in fact, most proteins that end in –ase are those that can break down something else. What they split is usually indicated by the syllable in front of it. A protease thus is a protein that can cleave (other) proteins. So does the Coronavirus have a protease to break down the proteins in our cells? No, because at least the main protease of the coronavirus, also known as MPro for short, cleaves the viruses own proteins. And why this is so important for the coronavirus that MPro is being intensively researched as a potential target for drugs against Covid-19, is what I would like to explain in this article.… Read more
