<i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> characterization of a bat merbecovirus with ACE2- and DPP4-independent cell entry

Betacoronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2, have caused three significant outbreaks in the past two decades and are believed to have originated from bats. To investigate the potential for future outbreaks, we generated a Japanese bat-derived MERS-related coronavirus, designated EjCoV-3, using reverse genetics. Our results showed that EjCoV-3 does not utilize ACE2 and DPP4, cell entry receptors for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, as a means of infection. However, we found that EjCoV-3 is the first bat merbecovirus capable of efficiently replicating in human respiratory cells and the respiratory tract of hamsters. These findings provide new insight into the potential for MERS-related coronaviruses that do not use ACE2 and DPP4 to infect the human respiratory tract, highlighting the importance of preparedness for outbreaks caused by these viruses.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Virology
Published
2025-06-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00727-25
Citations
2
Primary Topic
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.79

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article

In vitro and in vivo characterization of a bat merbecovirus with ACE2- and DPP4-independent cell entry

James Chambers, Ayano Ichikawa, Misa Katayama, Taisuke Horimoto et al.
2 citations
Journal of Virology
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
2.79
article

In vitro and in vivo characterization of a bat merbecovirus with ACE2- and DPP4-independent cell entry

James Chambers, Ayano Ichikawa, Misa Katayama, Taisuke Horimoto, Naohiro Takahashi, Kosuke Ohira, Masayuki Shimojima, Akiko Takenaka‐Uema, Kazuyuki Uchida, Hiromichi Matsugo, Hiroho Ishida, Wataru Sekine, Shin Murakami, Kaixin Li, Tomoya Kitamura
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Betacoronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and SARS-CoV-2, have caused three significant outbreaks in the past two decades and are believed to have originated from bats. To investigate the potential for future outbreaks, we generated a Japanese bat-derived MERS-related coronavirus, designated EjCoV-3, using reverse genetics. Our results showed that EjCoV-3 does not utilize ACE2 and DPP4, cell entry receptors for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, as a means of infection. However, we found that EjCoV-3 is the first bat merbecovirus capable of efficiently replicating in human respiratory cells and the respiratory tract of hamsters. These findings provide new insight into the potential for MERS-related coronaviruses that do not use ACE2 and DPP4 to infect the human respiratory tract, highlighting the importance of preparedness for outbreaks caused by these viruses.

Journal of VirologyVol. 99(7)
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (JP), National Institute of Infectious Diseases (JP), National Institute of Animal Health (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP)
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
2.79
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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