A complex between the Zika virion and the Fab of a broadly cross-reactive neutralizing monoclonal antibody revealed by cryo-EM and single particle analysis at 4.1 Å resolution

Cryo-EM for Small Molecules

In recent years, protein structure analysis using cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM) has expanded and improved. In this review, we discuss many recent improvements to the field, the problems those improvements hope to solve, and some of the still unanswered questions. Most notably, this review will discuss improvements in resolving small or fragmented protein structures, as well as methods to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the data by increasing image contrast using carbon-based systems. We will also describe how, in the last 5 years, methodological improvements have allowed for better 3D image resolution by capturing a continuum of 3D images. We will provide examples of these methods in practice and discuss how these improved methods may be used in small-molecule drug discovery and development. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

How Antibodies Recognize Pathogenic Viruses: Structural Correlates of Antibody Neutralization of HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and Zika

The H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010, MERS epidemic of 2012, Ebola epidemics of 2013-2016 and 2018-2020, Zika epidemic of 2015-2016, and COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2021, are recent examples in the long history of epidemics that demonstrate the enormous global impact of viral infection. The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics has proven vital to reducing morbidity and mortality from newly emerging viruses. Structural biology methods can be used to determine how antibodies elicited during infection or vaccination target viral proteins and identify viral epitopes that correlate with potent neutralization. Here we review how structural and molecular biology approaches have contributed to our understanding of antibody recognition of pathogenic viruses, specifically HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and Zika. Determining structural correlates of neutralization of viruses has guided the design of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecule inhibitors in response to the global threat of viral epidemics.