Antibodies SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also known as 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that can cause COVID-19 disease, a lethal respiratory disease. This new virus belongs to the genus Betacoronavirus, which also includes SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The first case of COVID-19 was detected in December, 2019 in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread to other countries in Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania. Human-to-human spread has been confirmed, with a suspected incubation period of ~2-14 days. There are some reports of transmission in the absence of clear symptoms, though infected people are likely most contagious due to coughing and sneezing that expel respiratory droplets.

With the spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus reaching pandemic status, researchers and clinicians have been working furiously to learn more about the virus’s biology and pathogenesis as well as how to treat the more clinically aggressive COVID-19 cases. As with any viral pathogen, understanding how SARS-CoV-2 enters host cells is of great significance.

In their study published very recently in Cell, Hoffmann et al. confirm findings reported by Zhou et al. that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the cellular receptor for SARS-CoV-2, as it is for SARS-CoV (1, 2). In addition, they identify the serine protease TMPRSS2 as a critical factor in the priming of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, an essential step for viral entry into host cells through fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. The authors also demonstrate that the serine protease inhibitor camostat mesylate, an agent that has already seen clinical application as a treatment for chronic pancreatitis-associated pain in Japan, is able to interfere with SARS-CoV-2 infection of lung cells. Finally, the study presents data that antibodies generated to SARS-CoV S protein may have some protective activity against SARS-CoV-2. Together, this work expands our knowledge of key factors involved in SARS-CoV-2’s entry into cells and reveals some promising avenues for SARS-CoV-2-directed therapies.

GeneTex is proud to offer an extensive line of research antibodies to support the study of COVID-19.

References:
(1) Viruses. 2020 Jan 24;12(2). pii: E135.
(2) Zhou et al. Nature 579, 270-273 (2020).
(3) Hoffmann et al. Cell 181, 1-10 (2020).