New Coronavirus HKU5-CoV-2 In Bats Can Infect Human Cells Just Like

But researchers say the pathogen’s potential to trigger a pandemic “should not be exaggerated”.

The new coronavirus binds to the enzyme ACE2.Image credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology have detected a new coronavirus in bats that is capable of entering human cells using the exact same mechanism as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.However, while this finding implies the obvious possibility of a spillover to human populations, the study authors point out that the new pathogen appears less virulent than that which caused the recent pandemic.

Known as HKU5-CoV-2, the virus also appears capable of hooking onto other versions of ACE2 in multiple different mammals, suggesting it may be capable of jumping to other species. The detection of similar strains in farmed minks underscores this risk, indicating that the virus may already be spreading through different animal populations.”These results indicate that the HKU5-CoV-2 may have a broader host range and a higher potential for interspecies infection [than the original HKU5-COV

strain],” write the study authors.To determine how much of a threat the virus poses to us, the researchers examined the pathogen’s ability to enter cultured human cells. Experiments revealed that the new coronavirus successfully invaded human cells that expressed ACE2 on their surface, but could not access those that were engineered to lack this crucial enzyme. Such a finding is concerning as it suggests that HKU5-CoV-2 operates via the same mechanism as SARS-CoV-2.