On February 3, the world-renowned scientific journal "Nature" published a research paper by Shi Zhengli's team at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences on the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This study, published online in the form of an "Accelerated Article Preview" two weeks after submission, confirmed that the new coronavirus and SARS virus (SARS-CoV) use the same receptor to invade cells. There is also evidence that bats are likely to be the natural host of the new coronavirus. It is reported that this is the first time that Nature has published research on the virus in the form of a formal paper.
infection: using the same receptor as SARS virus to invade cells
. The paper shows that the research team was the first to successfully isolate a new type of coronavirus from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a critically ill patient, and developed a new type of coronavirus that can be combined with it. Tests that distinguish all other human coronaviruses. The study found that the whole genome sequence of the new coronavirus obtained from the early 5 patient samples was 79.5% identical to the SARS virus. It is worth noting that both viruses use the same receptor (ACE2) to invade cells.
Among the 7 patient samples studied by the team, 6 were all shopkeepers or freighters from the South China Seafood Market. The only exception was a 62-year-old male who was the first patient to develop symptoms. His contact history with the seafood market was not clear. The man developed a fever on December 12, 2019 and subsequently recovered without treatment. On December 27, 2019, she had a fever again and sought medical treatment, and then recovered. Electron microscopic observation of
2019-nCoV in cells. Transmission of
: There is evidence that bats are the natural host of the virus. Follow-up virulence evolution should be observed
This study also provides evidence that bats are likely to be the natural host of the new coronavirus. The research team compared the genome of the new coronavirus with some of the genetic sequences of the coronavirus detected in the laboratory and found that the virus was genetically similar to a coronavirus (RaTG13) from a sample of Chinese rhinoceros bats from Yunnan. After sequencing the bat sample, it was found that the sequence identity of the two viruses was as high as 96.2%. The
paper pointed out that the link between the new coronavirus and the epidemic has not been proved by animal experiments and has not yet fully complied with Koch's law. In addition, the route and law of transmission of the virus between hosts are still unknown. At present, it seems that it has become easier to spread from person to person, and it should be closely observed whether it will evolve in a more toxic direction. Taking into account the lack of specific treatments and the relevance of the new coronavirus to the SARS virus, some drugs suitable for the SARS virus and preclinical research vaccines may be used for the new coronavirus. At the end of the
paper, the team emphasized that the domestication and consumption of wild animals should be strictly controlled.
The above-mentioned papers were submitted on January 20, 2020, and were accepted by the journal Nature on January 29, and will be published online in the form of "accelerated review articles" 5 days later. The paper pointed out that most of the early cases have a history of contact with the South China Seafood Market, but the disease has evolved into human-to-human transmission. Screenshot of
paper.
Zhou Peng, researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yang Xinglou, associate researcher, and Wang Xianguang, a doctor from Jinyintan Hospital, are the co-first authors of the paper, and Shi Zhengli, a researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is the corresponding author.
: Southern Metropolis reporter Lin Zipei
