SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease (3CLpro)

The SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease, also known as the main protease (Mpro) or 3-chymotrypsin-like protease, is a highly conserved cysteine hydrolase essential for coronavirus replication. It is responsible for the proteolytic processing of two large viral polyproteins (pp1a and pp1ab), which are translated from the viral RNA genome. This processing releases non-structural proteins (nsps) that are crucial for viral transcription, replication, and recombination. Without functional 3CLpro activity, coronaviruses cannot replicate or produce new virions; thus, it plays an indispensable role in their life cycle. It is a major focus area for drug development due to its high selectivity potential, and several inhibitors have already been discovered through high-throughput screening.

Other names

Main Protease (Mpro)3C-like ProteaseNonstructural protein 5 (nsp5)

Inhibition of viral polyprotein processing