REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
This article is part of the Research TopicEffective Therapeutic Strategies, including Treatments, Vaccines, and Immunotherapies, for Combating Zoonotic Viruses and Improving Global Health OutcomesView all 9 articles
The Structure and Function of Membrane Protein in Coronavirus Infection and Its Applications in the Development of Vaccines and Therapeutic Drugs
Provisionally accepted
- Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Coronaviruses have long posed significant harm to human and animal health, causing a variety of diseases. The membrane (M) protein of coronaviruses is one of the four major structural proteins and a key component of the viral structure, playing an important role in viral assembly, budding, and immunomodulation. In this paper, we systematically reviewe the structural and functional characteristics of the M protein, including its three transmembrane domains, N-terminal glycosylation and C-terminal oligomerization domain. In terms of function, we focus on the mechanistic roles of the M protein in viral envelope formation and the nucleocapsid packaging, as well as the newly discovered immune evasion strategy of regulating host innate immune signaling pathways. In addition, we also summarize the applications of M protein in preventing and controlling coronavirus infection and mitigating its adverse effects.
Keywords: Coronavirus, Glycosylation, membrane protein, therapeutic, Vaccine
Received: 08 Dec 2025; Accepted: 04 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Jiang, Li, Song, Song and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xingcui Zhang
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