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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Cell Physiol. 2020 Oct 20;236(5):3366–3382. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30109

Figure 2. SARS-CoV-2 Replication.

Figure 2.

Lifecycle of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 enters cells via the interaction of spike protein with ACE2 present on the surface of cells. Once inside the cells, it releases its genomic RNA into the cytoplasm. The viral genome uses the host machinery to translate into polyproteins that are further proteolyzed into smaller proteins by viral proteinases. Discontinuous transcription of the positive-strand RNA results in the synthesis of subgenomic negative-strand RNA, which is translated into viral structural proteins and serves as a template for the replication of genomic RNA. Genomic RNA and nucleocapsid protein together form a nucleoprotein complex in the cytoplasm and assembled with other structural proteins, such as spike (S), envelop (E), and, membrane (M) proteins into the ER-Golgi intermediated compartment (ERGIC). New virus particles are released through exocytosis. Link between viral non-structural proteins and the Rab pathway may lead to exosome-mediated dissemination of the viral modulators, inflammatory mediators which needs to be explored.