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Human coronavirus EMC is not the same as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
Editorial   Open access

Human coronavirus EMC is not the same as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Stanley Perlman and Jincun Zhao
mBio, Vol.4(1), p.e00002-13
01/15/2013
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00002-13
PMCID: PMC3551544
PMID: 23322635
url
https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00002-13View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

A newly identified betacoronavirus, human coronavirus EMC (HCoV-EMC), has been isolated from several patients with respiratory and renal disease in the Middle East. While only a few infected patients have been identified, the mortality of the infection is greater than 50%. Like its better-known cousin severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), HCoV-EMC appears to have originated from bats. In a recent article in mBio, Müller et al. described several important differences between the two viruses [M. A. Müller et al., mBio 3(6):e00515-12, 2012, doi:10.1128/mBio.00515-12]. Unlike SARS-CoV, HCoV-EMC can directly infect bat cells. As important, HCoV-EMC does not enter cells using the SARS-CoV receptor, human angiotensin-converting receptor-2 (hACE2). These results provide a strong incentive for identifying the host cell receptor used by HCoV-EMC. Identification of the receptor will provide insight into the pathogenesis of pulmonary and renal disease and may also suggest novel therapeutic interventions.
Animals Receptors, Virus - metabolism Humans Coronavirus - physiology Virus Attachment

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