The Emergence of the Spike Furin Cleavage Site in SARS-CoV-2
Yujia A. Chan, Shing H. Zhan
Abstract
Compared with other SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs), SARS-CoV-2 possesses a unique furin cleavage site (FCS) in its spike. This has stimulated discussion pertaining to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 because the FCS has been observed to be under strong selective pressure in humans and confers the enhanced ability to infect some cell types and induce cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, scientists have demonstrated interest in studying novel cleavage sites by introducing them into SARSr-CoVs. We review what is known about the SARS-CoV-2 FCS in the context of its pathogenesis, origin, and how future wildlife coronavirus sampling may alter the interpretation of existing data.
Topics & Concepts
FurinBiologyCleavage (geology)CoronavirusContext (archaeology)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)VirologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Computational biologyEvolutionary biologyGeneticsBiochemistryEnzymeDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)MedicinePaleontologyFracture (geology)PathologySARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchAnimal Virus Infections StudiesCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies