Abstract
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an infectious virus that was first reported in 2012. The MERS-CoV genome encodes four major structural proteins, among which the spike (S) protein has a key role in viral infection and pathogenesis. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S protein contains a critical neutralizing domain and is an important target for development of MERS vaccines and therapeutics. In this review, we describe the relevant features of the MERS-CoV S-protein RBD, summarize recent advances in the development of MERS-CoV RBD-based vaccines and therapeutic antibodies, and illustrate potential challenges and strategies to further improve their efficacy.
Highlights
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV) is an infectious virus that was first reported in June 2012 [1]
The receptor-binding domain (RBD) has a fold-rich tertiary structure, which consists of a core and a receptor-binding motif (RBM), with stabilization provided by four disulfide bonds and two glycans [77]
A number of MERS vaccines have been developed based on viral RBD, including nanoparticles, virus-like particles (VLPs), and recombinant proteins, and their protective efficacy has been virus-like particles (VLPs), and recombinant proteins, and their protective efficacy has been evaluated evaluated in animal models, including mice with adenovirus 5 (Ad5)-directed expression of human in animal models, including mice with(hDPP4-Tg)
Summary
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV) is an infectious virus that was first reported in June 2012 [1]. MERS infections were reported globally (in 27 countries), leading to 806 deaths, and a mortality of 35.3% Among these infections, 1,901 (83.4%) were reported in Saudi Arabia, with mortality in 732 individuals (38.5%) (http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/mers-cov/mers-outbreaks.html). The most recent MERS cases were reported in 2018 in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia, in addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman (http://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/). Infection of humans by MERS-CoV, which mainly occurs through the lower respiratory tract, causes severe respiratory symptoms, leading to failure of the respiratory system and/or other organs [7,46,47]. Neutralizing antibody responses, are crucial factors in the successful treatment of MERS-CoV infections in humans [50,51,52]. We will briefly describe MERS-CoV spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD), and summarize recent advances in the development of RBD-based MERS-CoV vaccines and therapeutics, as well as the potential challenges and future expectations for their successful development
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