Research Progress on the Structure and Function, Immune Escape Mechanism, Antiviral Drug Development Methods, and Clinical Use of SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>
The three-year COVID-19 pandemic ‘has’ caused a wide range of medical, social, political, and financial implications. Since the end of 2020, various mutations and variations in SARS-CoV-2 strains, along with the immune escape phenomenon, have emerged. There is an urgent need to identify a relatively...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/2/351 |
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| Summary: | The three-year COVID-19 pandemic ‘has’ caused a wide range of medical, social, political, and financial implications. Since the end of 2020, various mutations and variations in SARS-CoV-2 strains, along with the immune escape phenomenon, have emerged. There is an urgent need to identify a relatively stable target for the development of universal vaccines and drugs that can effectively combat both SARS-CoV-2 strains and their mutants. Currently, the main focus in treating SARS-CoV-2 lies in disrupting the virus’s life cycle. The main protease (M<sup>pro</sup>) is closely associated with virus replication and maturation and plays a crucial role in the early stages of infection. Consequently, it has become an important target for the development of SARS-CoV-2-specific drugs. This review summarizes the recent research progress on the novel coronavirus’s main proteases, including the pivotal role of M<sup>pro</sup> in the virus’s life cycle, the structure and catalytic mechanism of M<sup>pro</sup>, the self-maturation mechanism of M<sup>pro</sup>, the role of M<sup>pro</sup> in virus immune escape, the current methods of developing antiviral drugs targeting M<sup>pro</sup>, and the key drugs that have successfully entered clinical trials. The aim is to provide researchers involved in the development of antiviral drugs targeting M<sup>pro</sup> with systematic and comprehensive information. |
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| ISSN: | 1420-3049 |