Lysosomal Proteases Are a Determinant of Coronavirus Tropism.

ABSTRACT: Cell entry by coronaviruses involves two principal steps, receptor binding and membrane fusion; the latter requires activation by host proteases, particularly lysosomal proteases. Despite the importance of lysosomal proteases in both coronavirus entry and cell metabolism, the correlation between lysosomal proteases and cell tropism of coronaviruses has not been established. Here, we examined the roles of lysosomal proteases in activating coronavirus surface spike proteins for membrane fusion, using the spike proteins from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) as the model system. To this end, we controlled the contributions from receptor binding and other host proteases, thereby attributing coronavirus entry sol

SUBMITTER: Zheng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6258935 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature