The Spike Glycoprotein of the New Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Contains a Furin-like Cleavage Site Absent in CoV of the Same Clade

Overview

Journal Antiviral Res

Publisher Elsevier

Date 2020 Feb 15

PMID 32057769

Citations 951

Authors

B Coutard

C Valle

X de Lamballerie

B Canard

N G Seidah

E Decroly

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In 2019, a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infecting Humans has emerged in Wuhan, China. Its genome has been sequenced and the genomic information promptly released. Despite a high similarity with the genome sequence of SARS-CoV and SARS-like CoVs, we identified a peculiar furin-like cleavage site in the Spike protein of the 2019-nCoV, lacking in the other SARS-like CoVs. In this article, we discuss the possible functional consequences of this cleavage site in the viral cycle, pathogenicity and its potential implication in the development of antivirals.

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