Lipid bilayer degradation induced by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as revealed by neutron reflectometry

[Jam]

Lipid bilayer degradation induced by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as revealed by neutron reflectometry​

Therefore, an hypothesis which could explain the observed degradation is that the same lipid binding pockets come from the stripping of unsaturated lipids from the membrane. This process might favour the transition of the spike protein from the open to the close conformation. Indeed, a conformational change of the sSpike upon binding to ACE2 was reported as crucial for bringing membrane proximal region of the S1 unit close to the plasma membrane host cell3,14.

 

[alephx]

This is pretty interesting, does having a higher degree of saturation make one more resilient against spike?