Experimental MERS Treatments Target Host Cell Receptor

Researchers are searching for ways to prevent the coronavirus from attaching to DPP-4 receptors, blocking it from invading and replicating within host cells.

Ashley Yeager

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Illustration depicting MERS-CoVWIKIMEDIA, SCINCESIDE

A virus component called spike glycoprotein (S) and a host cell receptor called dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) are targets in researchers’ efforts to stop the spread of MERS, the Middle East respiratory syndrome, and possibly treat it. MERS is caused by a coronavirus implicated in 684 deaths since September 2012, according to the World Health Organization.

The MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which causes acute respiratory disease and can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure, and death, was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. For years, researchers have been studying how the virus attacks cells and working to develop antibodies that could be used in MERS-CoV vaccines or therapeutics.

MERS-CoV invades host cells by attaching to their DPP-4 receptors. A receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S protein ...

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Meet the Author

Ashley Yeager
Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.
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