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Advances in coronavirus main protease functions and inhibitor screening methods
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Moukang XIONG, Junhai ZHU, Yu’e WANG*
Acta Microbiologica Sinica | 2026, 66(3) : 1007 - 1025
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Acta Microbiologica Sinica | 2026, 66(3): 1007-1025
• Review •
Advances in coronavirus main protease functions and inhibitor screening methods
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Moukang XIONG, Junhai ZHU, Yu’e WANG*
Affiliations
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Published: 2026-03-04 doi: 10.13343/j.cnki.wsxb.20250733
Outline
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Coronaviruses pose a serious threat to human and animal health. Their main protease (Mpro) plays a critical role in both the viral life cycle and host immune regulation, serving as a key target for the development of broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus drugs. The core function of Mpro lies in its specific cleavage of viral polyproteins pp1a and pp1ab to release functional non-structural proteins (NSPs), thereby driving the assembly of the viral replication/transcription complex. Additionally, Mpro can target and cleave key molecules in host immune signaling pathways, facilitating viral immune evasion. Given its dual roles and highly conserved catalytic center, the research on Mpro has become a major focus in the field. This review systematically outlines the structural features and functional diversity of Mpro, with an emphasis on its catalytic mechanism in the viral replication cycle and its role in mediating immune suppression. Furthermore, this article details the screening methods and design strategies for Mpro inhibitors, aiming to offer theoretical foundations and novel insights for the development of anti-coronavirus drugs targeting this critical protein.

coronavirus  /  main protease  /  inhibitor screening methods  /  antiviral strategies
Moukang XIONG, Junhai ZHU, Yu’e WANG. Advances in coronavirus main protease functions and inhibitor screening methods[J]. Acta Microbiologica Sinica, 2026 , 66 (3) : 1007 -1025 . DOI: 10.13343/j.cnki.wsxb.20250733
Funding
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  • Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing(CSTB2024NSCQ-MSX0467)
  • Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(SWU-KR22036)
Appendix
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Year 2026 volume 66 Issue 3
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175
78
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Article Info
doi: 10.13343/j.cnki.wsxb.20250733
  • Receive Date：2025-09-27
  • Online Date：2026-03-12
  • Published：2026-03-04
Article Data
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History
  • Received：2025-09-27
  • Accepted：2025-10-28
Funding
Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing(CSTB2024NSCQ-MSX0467)
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(SWU-KR22036)
Affiliations
    College of Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

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Citations
表12种不同金属材料的力学参数
科
Family		 属数
Number of
genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of
total species (%)		 属
Genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of total
species (%)
鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae 2 11 5.26 鹅膏菌属 Amanita 10 4.78
小菇科 Mycenaceae 2 12 5.74 丝盖伞属 Inocybe 5 2.39
多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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