Research progress of nucleocapsid protein of novel coronavirus: structure, function and targeted therapy.

The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 poses an ongoing threat to global public health security. The continuous evolution of viruses (e.g., Delta, Omicron) has increased the risk of viral transmissibility, infectivity, and the risk of immune escape. As highly conserved structural proteins of viruses, nucleocapsid proteins (N proteins) play a central role in the viral life cycle, and the study of their functional mechanisms and targeted therapeutics is crucial for the development of antiviral strategies. In this paper, we systematically describe the structural characterization, functional mechanism, and targeted therapy of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein, analyze its key roles in viral packaging, replication, and immune escape, and discuss the challenges and future directions of drug development for the N protein.