Published: Structural biology of SARS-CoV-2 leader protein (nsp1)

Following infection, SARS-CoV-2’s leader protein nsp1 is the very first viral protein to be expressed.

Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 nsp1 (purple), human ribosomal RNA (bright orange) and ribosomal proteins (mainly 40S, dark orange), with a highlight on nsp1’s KH motif (molecular representation in the zoomed-in view) mediating the interaction (PDB entry: 6ZOJ)

Nsp1 takes over the host cell protein expression machinery to facilitate the production of SARS-CoV-2 virions by the host cell by binding to the ribosome and obstructing the expression of any but the viral proteins. 

Read more https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0889311X.2024.2325352