Protein / target
Spike glycoprotein
Protein at a glance
Biological role
Host cell surface receptor binding
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.
Function overview
Attaches the virion to the cell membrane by interacting with host receptor, initiating the infection.
View complete UniProt function annotationHide complete annotation
Attaches the virion to the cell membrane by interacting with host receptor, initiating the infection. The major receptor is host ACE2 (PubMed:32142651, PubMed:32155444, PubMed:33607086). When S2/S2' has been cleaved, binding to the receptor triggers direct fusion at the cell membrane (PubMed:34561887). When S2/S2' has not been cleaved, binding to the receptor results in internalization of the virus by endocytosis using host TFRC and GRM2 and leading to fusion of the virion membrane with the host endosomal membrane (PubMed:32075877, PubMed:32221306, PubMed:34903715, PubMed:36779763). Alternatively, may use NRP1/NRP2 (PubMed:33082294, PubMed:33082293) and integrin as entry receptors (PubMed:35150743). The use of NRP1/NRP2 receptors may explain the tropism of the virus in human olfactory epithelial cells, which express these molecules at high levels but ACE2 at low levels (PubMed:33082293). Uses also ASGR1 as an alternative receptor in an ACE2-independent manner (PubMed:34837059). The stalk domain of S contains three hinges, giving the head unexpected orientational freedom (PubMed:32817270)
Subcellular location
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (26)Hide
Domains & features
Gene Ontology
- Chost cell endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment membrane
- Chost cell plasma membrane
- Chost cell surface
- Chost extracellular space
- Cmembrane
- Cplasma membrane
- Cviral envelope
- Cvirion membrane
- Fhost cell surface receptor binding
- Fidentical protein binding
- Freceptor ligand activity
- Fstructural constituent of virion
Approved medicines with mapped indications
Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.
Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.
Drugs targeting this protein
How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.
ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.
Clinical trials
Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
What's happening now
Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.
- Withdrawn from market
Market withdrawal: Regkirona (EMA)
Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.