Nucleoprotein, SARS-CoV (NP)

In coronavirus, nucleocapsid is one of the most crucial structural components. The mainly function of nucleoprotein is to encapsidate the viral genome and interfere different cellular pathways. Previous studies show that 46 kDa nucleoprotein protein in SARS patients serum can be detected as early as one day after onset. This suggests that the nucleocapsid protein maybe able to used as an early diagnostic marker in patients with coronavirus infection.