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


Nature Structural and Molecular Biology Papers on HCoV-NL63

- Nature Structural and Molecular Biology

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

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.

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