Structural, Biophysical, and Biochemical Elucidation of the SARS-CoV-2 Nonstructural Protein 3 Macro Domain.
Lin, M.H., Chang, S.C., Chiu, Y.C., Jiang, B.C., Wu, T.H., Hsu, C.H.(2020) ACS Infect Dis 6: 2970-2978
- PubMed: 32946224 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00441
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7C33, 7CZ4 - PubMed Abstract: 
The pandemic outbreak of a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has threatened the global public health and economy since late December 2019. SARS-CoV-2 encodes the conserved macro domain within nonstructural protein 3, which may reverse cellular ADP-ribosylation and potentially cut the signal of a viral infection in the cell. Herein, we report that the SARS-CoV-2 macro domain was examined as a poly-ADP-ribose (ADPR) binding module and possessed mono-ADPR cleavage enzyme activity. After confirming the ADPR binding ability via a biophysical approach, the X-ray crystal structure of the SARS-CoV-2 macro domain was determined and structurally compared with those of other viruses. This study provides structural, biophysical, and biochemical bases to further evaluate the role of the SARS-CoV-2 macro domain in the host response via ADP-ribose binding but also as a potential target for drug design against COVID-19.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.