Single Amino Acid Substitution in the Receptor Binding Domain of Spike Protein Is Sufficient To Convert the Neutralization Profile between Ethiopian and Middle Eastern Isolates of Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus.

ABSTRACT: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic virus that causes MERS, which is endemic in the Middle East. The absence of human cases in Africa despite the presence of MERS-CoV suggests virological differences between MERS-CoVs in Africa and the Middle East. In fact, in the laboratory, recombinant MERS-CoV carrying the spike (S) protein of Ethiopian isolates exhibits attenuated properties, being more easily neutralized and replicating slower than viruses carrying the S protein of Middle Eastern isolate, EMC. In this study, to identify the amino acids that define the different virological features between Ethiopian and Middle Eastern MERS-CoVs, neutralization titers and viral replication were evaluated using recombinant MERS-CoVs carrying amino acid substitution(s) i

SUBMITTER: Sugimoto S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10100835 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature