Spike protein

It's been reported that coronavirus can infect the human respiratory epithelial cells through interaction with the human ACE2 receptor. The spike protein is a large type I transmembrane protein containing two subunits, S1 and S2. S1 mainly contains a receptor binding domain (RBD), which is responsible for recognizing the cell surface receptor. S2 contains basic elements needed for the membrane fusion.The S protein plays key parts in the induction of neutralizing-antibody and T-cell responses, as well as protective immunity.