Receptor Recognition by the Novel Coronavirus from Wuhan: an Analysis Based on Decade-Long Structural Studies of SARS Coronavirus

TLDR

The emergence of Wuhan coronavirus (2019‑nCoV) has raised global concern, echoing the SARS‑CoV outbreak, and prior structural studies of SARS‑CoV spike–ACE2 interactions have highlighted key contacts that govern cross‑species and human‑to‑human transmission. The study aims to develop an atomic‑level iterative framework of virus–receptor interactions to aid epidemic surveillance, predict species‑specific receptor usage, and identify potential animal hosts and models. Using the 2019‑nCoV spike protein sequence, the authors apply the predictive framework to infer its receptor usage and potential host range. The framework is validated by the study, offering predictive insights for basic, translational, and public‑health research to combat 2019‑nCoV.

Abstract

The recent emergence of Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) puts the world on alert. 2019-nCoV is reminiscent of the SARS-CoV outbreak in 2002 to 2003. Our decade-long structural studies on the receptor recognition by SARS-CoV have identified key interactions between SARS-CoV spike protein and its host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which regulate both the cross-species and human-to-human transmissions of SARS-CoV. One of the goals of SARS-CoV research was to build an atomic-level iterative framework of virus-receptor interactions to facilitate epidemic surveillance, predict species-specific receptor usage, and identify potential animal hosts and animal models of viruses. Based on the sequence of 2019-nCoV spike protein, we apply this predictive framework to provide novel insights into the receptor usage and likely host range of 2019-nCoV. This study provides a robust test of this reiterative framework, providing the basic, translational, and public health research communities with predictive insights that may help study and battle this novel 2019-nCoV.