title: Inability of rat DPP4 to allow MERS-CoV infection revealed by using a VSV pseudotype bearing truncated MERS-CoV spike protein.
abstract: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (Co-V) contains a single spike (S) protein, which binds to a receptor molecule, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4; also known as CD26), and serves as a neutralizing antigen. Pseudotyped viruses are useful for measuring neutralization titers against highly infectious viruses as well as for studying their mechanism of entry. In this study, we constructed a series of cytoplasmic deletion mutants of MERS-CoV S and compared the efficiency with which they formed pseudotypes with vesicular stomatitis virus. A pseudotype bearing an S protein with the C-terminal 16 amino acids deleted (MERSpv-St16) reached a maximum titer that was approximately tenfold higher than that of a pseudotype bearing a non-truncated full-length S protein. Using MERSpv-St16, we demonstrated the inability of rat DPP4 to serve as a functional receptor for MERS-CoV, suggesting that rats are not susceptible to MERS-CoV infection. This study provides novel information that enhances our understanding of the host range of MERS-CoV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology 1, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 4-7-1 Gakuen, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, 208-0011, Japan.
authors.forename: Aiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuma
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimojima
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Shuetsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukushi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000378:metabolism*; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018116:Vesiculovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D053585:Virus Attachment
chemical_list: D011991:Receptors, Virus; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4