Many research teams all over the world focus their research on the SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes the so-called COVID-19 disease. Most of the studies identify the main protease or 3C-like protease (M^pro/3CL^pro) as a valid target for large-spectrum inhibitors. Also, the interaction of the human receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with the viral surface glycoprotein (S) is studied in depth. Structural studies tried to identify the residues responsible for enhancement/weaken virus-ACE2 interactions or the cross-reactivity of the neutralizing antibodies. Although the understanding of the immune system and the hyper-inflammatory process in COVID-19 are crucial for managing the immediate and the long-term consequences of the disease, not many X-ray/NMR/cryo-EM crystals are available. In addition to 3CL^pro, the crystal structures of other nonstructural proteins offer valuable information for elucidating some aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, the structural analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 is currently mainly focused on three directions—finding M^pro/3CL^pro inhibitors, the virus-host cell invasion, and the virus-neutralizing antibody interaction.

世界各地的许多研究团队将研究重点放在 SARS-CoV-2，即引起所谓的 COVID-19 疾病的新型冠状病毒上。大多数研究将主要蛋白酶或 3C 样蛋白酶 (M ^pro /3CL ^pro ) 确定为大谱抑制剂的有效靶点。此外，还深入研究了人类受体血管紧张素转换酶 2 (ACE2) 与病毒表面糖蛋白 (S) 的相互作用。结构研究试图鉴定负责增强/减弱病毒-ACE2相互作用或中和抗体交叉反应性的残基。尽管了解 COVID-19 中的免疫系统和过度炎症过程对于控制该疾病的直接和长期后果至关重要，但可用的 X 射线/核磁共振/冷冻电镜晶体并不多。除了 3CL ^pro之外，其他非结构蛋白的晶体结构也为阐明 SARS-CoV-2 感染的某些方面提供了有价值的信息。因此，SARS-CoV-2的结构分析目前主要集中在三个方向——寻找M ^pro /3CL ^pro抑制剂、病毒与宿主细胞的侵袭以及病毒中和抗体的相互作用。