Many viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have a structure consisting of spikes protruding from an underlying spherical surface. Research in biological and colloidal sciences has revealed secrets of why spikes exist on virus surfaces. Specifically, the spikes favor virus attachment on surfaces via receptor-specific interactions (RSIs), mediate the membrane fusion, and determine or change viral tropism. The spikes also facilitate viruses to approach surfaces before attachment and subsequently escape back to the environment if RSIs do not occur (i.e., easy come and easy go). Therefore, virus spikes create the paradox of having a large capacity for binding with cells (high infectivity) and meanwhile great mobility in the environment. Such structure-function relationships have important implications for the fabrication of virus-like particles and analogous colloids (e.g., hedgehog- and raspberry-like particles) for applications such as the development of antiviral vaccines and drug delivery.

中文翻译：

---

为什么病毒是尖刺的？

许多病毒，例如严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 和人类免疫缺陷病毒 (HIV)，都具有由从下面的球形表面突出的尖峰组成的结构。生物和胶体科学的研究揭示了为什么病毒表面存在尖峰的秘密。具体来说，尖峰有利于病毒通过受体特异性相互作用 (RSI) 附着在表面上，介导膜融合，并确定或改变病毒的嗜性。尖峰还有助于病毒在附着之前接近表面，如果不发生 RSI（即来得容易，去得快），则随后逃回环境中。因此，病毒尖峰创造了一个悖论，即与细胞结合的能力大（感染力高），同时在环境中的移动性也大。