MERS-CoV strains, including EMC and London strains, reportedly do not replicate in the respiratory tract of various strains of mice, including BALB/c, C57BL/6, and STAT 1-/-, or in aged (12- to 14-months old) BALB/c mice, or in 5-weeks-old golden Syrian hamsters or in ferrets. The receptor for the virus has been identified as a dipeptidyl peptidase 4. We propose to evaluate MERS-CoV in a range of species, including rats, cotton rats and guinea pigs, in order to develop a model that can be used to study the pathogenesis and immune response to the novel coronavirus. It is not known whether the novel coronavirus can replicate in these species.

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$760,593
Indirect Cost
City
State
Country
Zip Code
Zhao, Jingxian; Alshukairi, Abeer N; Baharoon, Salim A et al. (2017) Recovery from the Middle East respiratory syndrome is associated with antibody and T-cell responses. Sci Immunol 2:
Houser, Katherine V; Gretebeck, Lisa; Ying, Tianlei et al. (2016) Prophylaxis With a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)-Specific Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects Rabbits From MERS-CoV Infection. J Infect Dis 213:1557-61
Wang, Lingshu; Shi, Wei; Joyce, M Gordon et al. (2015) Evaluation of candidate vaccine approaches for MERS-CoV. Nat Commun 6:7712