The spike protein of SARS-CoV — a target for vaccine and therapeutic development

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Key Points

This Review provides an overview on the spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) as a target for the development of vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of SARS.
SARS is a newly emerging infectious disease, caused by SARS-CoV, a novel coronavirus that caused a global outbreak of SARS.
SARS-CoV S protein mediates binding of the virus with its receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and promotes the fusion between the viral and host cell membranes and virus entry into the host cell.
SARS-CoV S protein induces humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV.
SARS S protein is the target of new SARS vaccines. These vaccines are based on SARS-CoV full-length S protein and its receptor-binding domain, including DNA-, viral vector- and subunit-based vaccines
Peptides, antibodies, organic compounds and short interfering RNAs are additional anti-SARS-CoV therapeutics that target the S protein.
The work on SARS-CoV S protein-based vaccines and drugs will be useful as a model for the development of prophylactic strategies and therapies against other viruses with class I fusion proteins that can cause emerging infectious diseases.

Abstract

The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) between 2002 and 2004 killed hundreds of people. Vaccines against the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) could protect the population during future outbreaks. In this Review, Shibo Jiang and colleagues describe such vaccines, as well as other therapeutics, based on the SARS-CoV spike protein.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly emerging infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The SARS-CoV spike (S) protein is composed of two subunits; the S1 subunit contains a receptor-binding domain that engages with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and the S2 subunit mediates fusion between the viral and host cell membranes. The S protein plays key parts in the induction of neutralizing-antibody and T-cell responses, as well as protective immunity, during infection with SARS-CoV. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in the development of vaccines and therapeutics based on the S protein.

Related collections

Most cited references 78

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Characterization of a novel coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome.

P Rota (2003)

In March 2003, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was discovered in association with cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The sequence of the complete genome of SARS-CoV was determined, and the initial characterization of the viral genome is presented in this report. The genome of SARS-CoV is 29,727 nucleotides in length and has 11 open reading frames, and its genome organization is similar to that of other coronaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses and sequence comparisons showed that SARS-CoV is not closely related to any of the previously characterized coronaviruses.

0 comments Cited 1219 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Isolation and characterization of viruses related to the SARS coronavirus from animals in southern China.

Y Guan (2003)

A novel coronavirus (SCoV) is the etiological agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). SCoV-like viruses were isolated from Himalayan palm civets found in a live-animal market in Guangdong, China. Evidence of virus infection was also detected in other animals (including a raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides) and in humans working at the same market. All the animal isolates retain a 29-nucleotide sequence that is not found in most human isolates. The detection of SCoV-like viruses in small, live wild mammals in a retail market indicates a route of interspecies transmission, although the natural reservoir is not known.

0 comments Cited 1112 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats.

S K P Lau, P Woo, K. S. M. Li … (2005)

Although the finding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in caged palm civets from live animal markets in China has provided evidence for interspecies transmission in the genesis of the SARS epidemic, subsequent studies suggested that the civet may have served only as an amplification host for SARS-CoV. In a surveillance study for CoV in noncaged animals from the wild areas of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region, we identified a CoV closely related to SARS-CoV (bat-SARS-CoV) from 23 (39%) of 59 anal swabs of wild Chinese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus sinicus) by using RT-PCR. Sequencing and analysis of three bat-SARS-CoV genomes from samples collected at different dates showed that bat-SARS-CoV is closely related to SARS-CoV from humans and civets. Phylogenetic analysis showed that bat-SARS-CoV formed a distinct cluster with SARS-CoV as group 2b CoV, distantly related to known group 2 CoV. Most differences between the bat-SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV genomes were observed in the spike genes, ORF 3 and ORF 8, which are the regions where most variations also were observed between human and civet SARS-CoV genomes. In addition, the presence of a 29-bp insertion in ORF 8 of bat-SARS-CoV genome, not in most human SARS-CoV genomes, suggests that it has a common ancestor with civet SARS-CoV. Antibody against recombinant bat-SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein was detected in 84% of Chinese horseshoe bats by using an enzyme immunoassay. Neutralizing antibody to human SARS-CoV also was detected in bats with lower viral loads. Precautions should be exercised in the handling of these animals.

0 comments Cited 797 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Lanying Du:

Bio :

Lanying Du received her PhD from the University of Hong Kong and is now a research fellow at the Viral Immunology Laboratory, the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of New York Blood Center, USA. Her research interests focus on studies of the structure and function of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike protein and the development of spike protein-based SARS vaccines.

Yuxian He:

Bio :

Yuxian He is an assistant member at the Viral Immunology Laboratory, the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of New York Blood Center, USA, where he has made dedicated efforts to develop vaccines and therapeutics against emerging infectious viruses, including HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and highly pathogenic influenza virus H5N1.

Yusen Zhou:

Bio :

Yusen Zhou is Professor and Director of the Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology at the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, China, where he has focused on studies of viral immunology and pathogenesis of hepatitis and emerging infectious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H5N1 avian influenza and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Shuwen Liu:

Bio :

Shuwen Liu is Professor and Executive Director of the Antiviral Research Center, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, where he has worked on the development of antiviral therapeutics against HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV), influenza virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus.

Bo-Jian Zheng:

Bio :

Bo-Jian Zheng is Professor and Director of the Vaccine Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, the University of Hong Kong, where he has worked on the epidemiology, immunology and anti-viral therapy of viral emerging infectious diseases, with a focus on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and H5N1 avian influenza.

Shibo Jiang: sjiang@nybloodcenter.org

Bio :

Shibo Jiang is Head of the Viral Immunology Laboratory at the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of the New York Blood Center, USA, where he has focused on the development of envelope glycoprotein-based therapeutics and vaccines against HIV and severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). He was the first to discover the highly potent anti-HIV peptide derived from the HIV-1 glycoprotein 41 HR2 region, and later licensed the patent to Trimeris Pharmaceuticals, who then developed the peptidic anti-HIV drug enfuvirtide, the first HIV fusion inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This discovery opened a new avenue to the development of viral fusion inhibitors against viruses with class I fusion proteins.

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Nat Rev Microbiol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Nat. Rev. Microbiol

Title: Nature Reviews. Microbiology

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK (London )

ISSN (Print): 1740-1526

ISSN (Electronic): 1740-1534

Publication date (Electronic): 9 February 2009

Publication date (Print): 2009

Volume: 7

Issue: 3

Pages: 226-236

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.250415.7, ISNI 0000 0004 0442 2075, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, ; 310 East 67th Street, New York, 10065 New York USA

[2 ]State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071 China

[3 ]GRID grid.284723.8, ISNI 0000 0000 8877 7471, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, ; Guangzhou, 510515 China

[4 ]GRID grid.194645.b, ISNI 0000000121742757, Department of Microbiology, , University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, ; Hong Kong SAR, China

Article

Publisher ID: BFnrmicro2090

DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro2090

PMC ID: 2750777

PubMed ID: 19198616

SO-VID: e0bf7fe6-7587-4220-a23f-80b84e47ea99

License:

This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.