The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan, China has posed a serious threat to global public health. To develop specific anti-coronavirus therapeutics and prophylactics, the molecular mechanism that underlies viral infection must first be defined. Therefore, we herein established a SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein-mediated cell–cell fusion assay and found that SARS-CoV-2 showed a superior plasma membrane fusion capacity compared to that of SARS-CoV. We solved the X-ray crystal structure of six-helical bundle (6-HB) core of the HR1 and HR2 domains in the SARS-CoV-2 S protein S2 subunit, revealing that several mutated amino acid residues in the HR1 domain may be associated with enhanced interactions with the HR2 domain. We previously developed a pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor, EK1, which targeted the HR1 domain and could inhibit infection by divergent human coronaviruses tested, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Here we generated a series of lipopeptides derived from EK1 and found that EK1C4 was the most potent fusion inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 S protein-mediated membrane fusion and pseudovirus infection with IC50s of 1.3 and 15.8 nM, about 241- and 149-fold more potent than the original EK1 peptide, respectively. EK1C4 was also highly effective against membrane fusion and infection of other human coronavirus pseudoviruses tested, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, as well as SARSr-CoVs, and potently inhibited the replication of 5 live human coronaviruses examined, including SARS-CoV-2. Intranasal application of EK1C4 before or after challenge with HCoV-OC43 protected mice from infection, suggesting that EK1C4 could be used for prevention and treatment of infection by the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging SARSr-CoVs.

Choosing a partner that fits: G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) are responsible for transducing diverse signals from outside to inside cells. This process requires specificity both in ligand binding to GPCRs and in coupling between GPCRs and their intracellular partners, G proteins. Qiao et al. determined the structure of the human glucagon receptor (GCGR), a type B GPCR, bound to glucagon and one of two heterotrimeric G proteins, G _s or G _i1 . GCGR signals mainly through G _s , and the structures provide a basis for this specificity. Conformational changes in GCGR, relative to the inactive state, create a binding cavity for the G proteins. The pocket is opened sufficiently to accommodate a bulky binding motif in G _s . G _i1 can still bind but the pocket does not close around it, so there is a smaller interaction interface. Science , this issue p. 1346

An electron bridge in place of a ferry: Respiratory complexes are massive, membrane-embedded scaffolds that position redox cofactors so as to permit electron transfer coupled to the movement of protons across a membrane. Gong et al. used cryo–electron microscopy to determine a structure of a stable assembly of mycobacterial complex III–IV, in which a complex III dimer is sandwiched between two complex IV monomers. A potential direct electron transfer path stretches from the quinone oxidizing centers in complex III to the oxygen reduction centers in complex IV. A loosely associated superoxide dismutase may play a role in detoxifying superoxide produced from uncoupled oxygen reduction. Science , this issue p. eaat8923