Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

February 3, 2020

The novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) uses the SARS-1 coronavirus receptor ACE2 and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 for entry into target cells

Category:

Topic:

  • M Hoffman, et al. found that 2019-nCoV uses the same receptor, ACE2, used by SARS viruses to invade host cells; and that another cellular protease may be part of the process, presenting another potential target for therapy. They also consider how similarities with SARS may translate to 2019-nCoV transmission and pathogenicity.
  • Sera from a convalescent SARS patient partially inhibited 2019-nCov entry into target cells in vitro.
  • Extrapulmonary SARS-CoV spread in ACE2-expressing tissues was observed, and should be assessed for 2019-nCoV. The role of an additional protein (TMPRSS2) in 2019n-CoV entry may affect these comparisons.

Hoffman M, et al. (31 Jan, 2020). The novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) uses the SARS-1 coronavirus receptor ACE2 and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 for entry into target cells. Pre-Print.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.31.929042v1