Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by a new human coronavirus (SARS-CoV), represents the 21st century's first pandemic caused by a previously unknown etiological agent. The 2002-03 SARS epidemic stimulated research on coronaviruses of humans, animals, and birds. SARS had enormous economic impact and demonstrated the pathogenic potential of this large group of RNA viruses. An indirect result of the SARS epidemic was the discovery of two new human coronaviruses, HCoV-NL63, isolated in 2004, and HCoV-HKU1, discovered in 2005, and the discovery of novel bat coronaviruses in Asia. Interestingly, preliminary phylogenetic analysis suggests that all animal and human coronaviruses may have evolved from progenitor coronaviruses in bats. Studies on the epidemiology and pathogenesis of NL63, HKU1, and bat coronaviruses are still in their infancy. My mentor's laboratory has extensive experience in studying human and animal coronaviruses. Because I am a pediatric infectious disease specialist with a collaboration already established with The Children's Hospital Clinical Virology Laboratory, an outstanding collection of pediatric respiratory and stool specimens is available to me. Additionally, my mentor and I have joined the recently formed Rocky Mountain Bat Research Consortium. These combined advantages provide me with the needed resources and training for this proposed research. In this revised K08 application, I propose epidemiological, functional and molecular characterization studies on NL63, HKU1, and novel Rocky Mountain bat coronaviruses (RM-BtCoV), which I recently discovered. My goals are to develop sensitive and specific new tools for the rapid diagnosis of these viruses;characterize their prevalence, diversity and clinical spectra;and identify candidate receptor(s) for RM-BtCoVs. These studies will generate needed and valuable reagents for further studies on these viruses, provide information regarding the roles of NL63 and HKU1 in pediatric diseases, and provide further insights into the evolutionary relationships of coronaviruses and mechanisms of emergence of zoonotic diseases. The training and research on emerging coronaviruses that I propose here will enable me to study the essential components of emerging infectious diseases caused by other viruses, including their epidemiology, ecology, diagnostics, disease associations, and zoonotic emergence.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
3K08AI073525-02S1
Application #
7919682
Study Section
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases B Subcommittee (MID)
Program Officer
Cassels, Frederick J
Project Start
2009-09-12
Project End
2010-09-11
Budget Start
2009-09-12
Budget End
2010-09-11
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$50,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado Denver
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041096314
City
Aurora
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80045
Osborne, Christina M; Montano, Aaron C; Robinson, Christine C et al. (2015) Viral gastroenteritis in children in Colorado 2006-2009. J Med Virol 87:931-9
Dominguez, Samuel R; Shrivastava, Susmita; Berglund, Andrew et al. (2014) Isolation, propagation, genome analysis and epidemiology of HKU1 betacoronaviruses. J Gen Virol 95:836-48
Góes, Luiz Gustavo Bentim; Ruvalcaba, Sicilene Gonzalez; Campos, Angélica Almeida et al. (2013) Novel bat coronaviruses, Brazil and Mexico. Emerg Infect Dis 19:1711-3
Dominguez, Samuel R; Travanty, Emily A; Qian, Zhaohui et al. (2013) Human coronavirus HKU1 infection of primary human type II alveolar epithelial cells: cytopathic effects and innate immune response. PLoS One 8:e70129
Qian, Zhaohui; Dominguez, Samuel R; Holmes, Kathryn V (2013) Role of the spike glycoprotein of human Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in virus entry and syncytia formation. PLoS One 8:e76469
Dominguez, Samuel R; Sims, Gregory E; Wentworth, David E et al. (2012) Genomic analysis of 16 Colorado human NL63 coronaviruses identifies a new genotype, high sequence diversity in the N-terminal domain of the spike gene and evidence of recombination. J Gen Virol 93:2387-98
Eladawy, Mohammed; Dominguez, Samuel R; Anderson, Marsha S et al. (2011) Abnormal liver panel in acute kawasaki disease. Pediatr Infect Dis J 30:141-4
Kedia, Sita; Stroud, Britt; Parsons, Julie et al. (2011) Pediatric neurological complications of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1). Arch Neurol 68:455-62
Osborne, Christina; Cryan, Paul M; O'Shea, Thomas J et al. (2011) Alphacoronaviruses in New World bats: prevalence, persistence, phylogeny, and potential for interaction with humans. PLoS One 6:e19156
Dominguez, Samuel R; Robinson, Christine C; Holmes, Kathryn V (2009) Detection of four human coronaviruses in respiratory infections in children: a one-year study in Colorado. J Med Virol 81:1597-604