The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 38 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Functional assessment of cell entry and receptor usage for SARS-CoV-2 and other lineage B betacoronaviruses
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, several coronaviruses have crossed the species barrier into humans, causing outbreaks of severe, and often fatal, respiratory illness. Since SARS-CoV was first identified in animal markets, global viromics projects have discovered thousands of coronavirus sequences in diverse animals and geographic regions. Unfortunately, there are few tools available to functionally test these viruses for their ability to infect humans, which has severely hampered efforts to predict the next zoonotic viral outbreak. Here, we developed an approach to rapidly screen lineage B betacoronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and the recent SARS-CoV-2, for receptor usage and their ability to infect cell types from different species. We show that host protease processing during viral entry is a significant barrier for several lineage B viruses and that bypassing this barrier allows several lineage B viruses to enter human cells through an unknown receptor. We also demonstrate how different lineage B viruses can recombine to gain entry into human cells, and confirm that human ACE2 is the receptor for the recently emerging SARS-CoV-2.
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“SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded RNA β-coronavirus and a member of the subgenus Sarbecovirus (beta-CoV lineage B).”
From Oral Microbiome and SARS-CoV-2: Beware of Lung Co-infection (2020) · cites this paper as Letko et al., 2020
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The S protein mediates binding of coronaviruses to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the surface of various cell types including epithelial cells of the pulmonary alveolus (4–6).”
From An Alphavirus -derived replicon RNA vaccine induces SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody and T cell responses in mice and nonhuman primates (2020) · cites this paper as [5]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“it directly interacts with the cellular receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which mediates host cell entry”
From SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination induces functionally diverse antibodies to NTD, RBD, and S2 (2021) · cites this paper as Letko et al., 2020
In the citing paper
“It is the seventh member of the Coronaviridae known to infect humans so far, two of which, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, caused global health threats previously (Guarner, 2020; Letko et al., 2020).”
From Oral Microbiome and SARS-CoV-2: Beware of Lung Co-infection (2020) · cites this paper as Letko et al., 2020
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Cites
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Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus
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Structure, Function, and Evolution of Coronavirus Spike Proteins
Li, F. (2016) · Annual Review of Virology · doi:10.1146/annurev-virology-110615-042301 · Cited by 2,740
Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like Coronaviruses
Li, W., Shi, Z., Yu, M., Ren, W., Smith, C. S., Epstein, J. H., Wang, H., Crameri, G. S., Hú, Z., Zhang, H., et al. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1118391 · Cited by 2,571
Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 is a functional receptor for the emerging human coronavirus-EMC
Raj, V. S., Mou, H., Smits, S. L., Dekkers, D. H. W., Müller, M. A., Dijkman, R., Muth, D., Demmers, J. A. A., Zaki, A., Fouchier, R. A. M., et al. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12005 · Cited by 2,061
Structure of SARS Coronavirus Spike Receptor-Binding Domain Complexed with Receptor
Li, F., Li, W., Farzan, M., & Harrison, S. C. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1116480 · Cited by 2,035
Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor
Ge, X.-Y., Li, J.-L., Yang, X.-L., Chmura, A. A., Zhu, G., Epstein, J. H., Mazet, J. K., Hu, B., Zhang, W., Peng, C., et al. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12711 · Cited by 1,778
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats
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Structure, function and antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein
Walls, A. C., Park, Y.-J., Tortorici, M. A., Wall, A., McGuire, A. T., & Veesler, D. (2020) · doi:10.1101/2020.02.19.956581 · Cited by 8,586
Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain bound to the ACE2 receptor
Lan, J., Ge, J., Yu, J., Shan, S., Zhou, H., Fan, S., Zhang, Q., Shi, X., Wang, Q., Zhang, L., et al. (2020) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2180-5 · Cited by 5,983
The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2
Andersen, K. G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W. I., Holmes, E. C., & Garry, R. F. (2020) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0820-9 · Cited by 5,081
Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19
Hu, B., Guo, H., Zhou, P., & Shi, Z.-L. (2021) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/s41579-020-00459-7 · Cited by 5,291
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Metadata
- Authors
- Letko, M., Marzi, A., & Munster, V.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (US)
- Corresponding author
- Letko, Michael
- Munster, Vincent
- Venue
- Nature Microbiology
- Published
- 2020-02-24
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 562-569
- ISSN
- 2058-5276 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7095430
- OpenAlex
- W3008394341
- Cited by
- 3,109
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 122 · 2024: 198 · 2023: 287 · 2022: 571 · 2021: 874 · 2020: 1002
- FWCI
- 89.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Microbiology (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
- Peking Union Medical College
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Virus Infections Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, cell entry, ACE2 receptor, zoonotic transmission, viral recombination, cross-species infection
- MeSH terms
- Protein Domains, Betacoronavirus, Receptors, Coronavirus, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Animals, Cell Line, Humans, Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A, Mutation, Pneumonia, Viral, Receptors, Virus, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Trypsin, Coronavirus Infections, Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4, CD13 Antigens, Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, Virus Internalization, Pandemics, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
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