tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Mol Biol Evol
. 2021 Nov 12;msab327.
doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab327. Online ahead of print.
The emergence of the spike furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2
Yujia Alina Chan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shing Hei Zhan[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Compared to other known SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs), SARS-CoV-2 possesses a unique furin cleavage site (FCS) in its spike. This has stimulated discussion pertaining to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 because the FCS has been observed to be under strong selective pressure in humans and confers the enhanced ability to infect some cell types and induce cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, scientists have demonstrated interest in studying novel cleavage sites by introducing them into SARSr-CoVs. We review what is known about the SARS-CoV-2 FCS in the context of its pathogenesis, origin, and how future wildlife coronavirus sampling may alter the interpretation of existing data.
. 2021 Nov 12;msab327.
doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab327. Online ahead of print.
The emergence of the spike furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2
Yujia Alina Chan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shing Hei Zhan[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34788836
- DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab327
Abstract
Compared to other known SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs), SARS-CoV-2 possesses a unique furin cleavage site (FCS) in its spike. This has stimulated discussion pertaining to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 because the FCS has been observed to be under strong selective pressure in humans and confers the enhanced ability to infect some cell types and induce cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, scientists have demonstrated interest in studying novel cleavage sites by introducing them into SARSr-CoVs. We review what is known about the SARS-CoV-2 FCS in the context of its pathogenesis, origin, and how future wildlife coronavirus sampling may alter the interpretation of existing data.