Furin Cleavage Site Is Key to SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis
B. A. Johnson, X. Xie, B. Kalveram, K. G. Lokugamage, A. Muruato, J. Zou, X. Zhang, T. Juelich, J. K. Smith, L. Zhang, C. Schindewolf, M. N. Vu, A. Vanderheiden, J. A. Plante, K. S. Plante, , V. D. Menachery
This study shows that removing the furin cleavage site from SARS-CoV-2 increases replication in Vero cells but reduces replication in respiratory cells and pathogenesis in hamsters, while also decreasing neutralization susceptibility.
bioRxiv · Aug 26, 2020 · PreprintMicrobiology