Observations by cryo-electron microscopy at 4.0A resolution allow visualization of the S glycoprotein at an unprecedented level of detail and have suggested that the human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) and other coronaviruses use molecular trickery, based on epitope masking with glycans and activating conformational changes, to evade the immune system of infected hosts.

Michigan State University

It is among the four identified coronaviruses which are known to continuously circulate in the human population, especially in young children. HCoV-NL63 was first isolated in Amsterdam in 2004 from the nasopharyngeal aspirate of a seven-month old child; the patient presented with symptoms suggesting respiratory tract infection (coryza, conjunctivitis, and fever), while his chest X-ray showed typical features of bronchiolitis

HCov-NL63

Walls, A. C., Tortorici, M. A., Frenz, B., Snijder, J., Li, W., Rey, F. A., DiMaio, F., Bosch, B., & Veesler, D. (2016). Glycan shield and epitope masking of a coronavirus spike protein observed by cryo-electron microscopy. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 23(10), 899-905. https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3293

Glycan shield and epitope masking of a coronavirus spike protein observed by cryo-electron microscopy

Glycan shield and epitope masking of a coronavirus spike protein

- Nature Structural and Molecular Biology

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