Recombinant MERS-CoV Spike protein

MERS-CoV, which causes the Middles East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses. MERS-CoV was first identified in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012, which is a single and positive stranded RNA virus. Dromedary camels are widely considered as the source of the transmission of MERS-CoV. The rate of human transmission among household contacts of MERS patients has been approximately 5 % based on serological analysis. MERS-CoV has four structural proteins, known as the S (spike), E (envelope), M (membrane), and N (nucleocapsid) proteins. The spike protein, responsible for allowing the virus to attach to and fuse with the membrane of a host cell and is a large type I transmembrane protein containing two subunits, S1 and S2. S1 mainly contains a receptor binding domain (RBD), which is responsible for recognizing the cell surface receptor. S2 contains basic elements needed for the membrane fusion. MERS-CoV S mediates viral attachment and fusion to human cells via human cellular receptor DPP4, also known as CD26. The S protein plays key parts in the induction of neutralizing-antibody and T-cell responses, as well as protective immunity. Recombinant MERS-CoV Spike, fused to His-tag at C-terminus, was expressed in insect cell and purified by using conventional chromatography techniques.