Cell Biology

        PRIMARY LITERATURE ARTICLE FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT CAN BE FOUND AT: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7260975/ HOW TO DO THIS ASSIGNMENT- A. READ THE ARTICLE ASSIGNED. (See the link above) B. Your answers do not have to be long. For some questions, a sentence may be enough to answer the question. Please limit your answers to a maximum of five sentences per question. C. Answer all parts of the question for full credit. Only answer the question that is asked. D. For many (but not all) questions, you may wish to go online, or find information in a book. If you use a source, but you do not cite a source, you will not get any credit for your answer. If you use your textbook, then state “from the text”. If you use your lecture notes, then state “from lecture”. If you use a website, then give me the website after your answer. E. Use your own words or rephrase the ideas from your source into your own words. I’m interested in whether you understand the material enough to restate it. F. Plagiarism (copying from a reference) will get you a zero on the entire assignment. Plagiarism is defined here as having 5 or more words in a row directly from a source without using quotation marks. 1. Using your own words, answer these questions about Primary Literature. 1a. What is “primary scientific literature”? ANSWER 1b. Who earns their name as “first author” on an article? (Use the search term “authorship order”) ANSWER 1c. What is a “principal investigator” (P.I.) in a scientific lab? ANSWER 1d. Where in the list of authors does the P.I.’s name get placed? ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 2. The article describes the Spike Protein PPC in detail. 2a. According to the article, what is a “PPC site”? ANSWER 2b. What is the amino acid sequence of the PPC site for SARS-CoV-2? ANSWER 2c. Is the PPC site of SARS-CoV-2 similar to the PPC site of other similar viruses? Be specific about differences in amino acid sequence. ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 3. The article describes the Spike Protein RBD in detail. 3a. What is the “RBD” of spike protein? ANSWER 3b. In Figure 1, what does the article mean by “RBD standing up”? ANSWER 3c. Which human receptor binds to the SARS-CoV-2 RBD? ANSWER 3d. Is this the same human receptor used by other coronaviruses? ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 4. This research group used a “pseudovirus entry assay”. 4a. How are the pseudovirus and the SARS-CoV-2 virus similar? ANSWER 4b. How are the pseudovirus and the SARS-CoV-2 virus different? ANSWER 4c. Why didn’t they just use normal SARS-CoV-2 virus to do these experiments? (USE YOUR OWN WORDS) ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 5. Review Figure 2, and USING YOUR OWN WORDS answer these questions. 5a. What is the “PPC motif”? ANSWER 5b. What is “WT”? And what is “PPC mutant”? ANSWER 5c. In Figure 2A, the WT lane has two bands and the PPC mutant lane has only one. Why? ANSWER 5d. In Figure 2B, which virus has higher entry efficiency; the WT or the PPC mutant? Explain why the PPC motif matters for viral entry. ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 6. Review Figure 3, and USING YOUR OWN WORDS answer these questions. 6a. What is “PPCi” (that is used in Figure 3)? ANSWER 6b. What happened to PPC cleavage (of the spike protein) when PPCi was added? ANSWER 6c. Explain the answer to 6b by describing the data from Figure 2A. ANSWER 6d. What happened to viral entry when PPCi was added? WHY? ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 7a. What is furin? ANSWER 7b. How does furin relate to the spike protein? (Hint: see Figure 6) ANSWER 7c. How does furin activity relate to coronavirus entry into host cells? (USE YOUR OWN WORDS.) ANSWER 7d. Logically explain how furin inhibitors could be used as a coronavirus drug. (USE YOUR OWN WORDS.) ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 8. In Figure 6, the authors compare the SARS-CoV (the first SARS pandemic) and SARS-CoV-2 (the current pandemic). 8a. What do the authors mean by “Frequency of RBD standing up”? ANSWER 8b. How is SARS-CoV-2 different in terms of “Frequency of RBD standing up”? ANSWER 8c. Why does this matter for this virus’s ability to infect humans and spread? ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 9. In Figure 6, the authors compare the SARS-CoV (the first SARS pandemic) and SARS-CoV-2 (the current pandemic). 9a. What do the authors mean by “Human ACE2-binding affinity by RBD”? ANSWER 9b. How is SARS-CoV-2 different in terms of “Human ACE2-binding affinity by RBD”? ANSWER 9c. Why does this matter for this virus’s ability to infect humans and spread? ANSWER REFERENCE(S): 10. In the last paragraph of the article, the authors propose four potential drugs/vaccines. USING YOUR OWN WORDS, explain one of the potential drugs/vaccines. (USE YOUR OWN WORDS.) ANSWER REFERENCE(S): REMEMBER – You will not get credit for your answers if you A) Plagiarize your answer. (You can use your own words!) OR B) Forget to include references. (Just copy and paste the link below your answers!)