To better assess the risk for transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), we obtained serial specimens and clinical and exposure data from seven confirmed U.S. SARS patients and their 10 household contacts. SARS-CoV was detected in a day-14 sputum specimen from one case-patient and in five stool specimens from two case-patients. In one case-patient, ...

The details of the mechanism by which severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) causes severe pneumonia are unclear. We investigated the immune responses and pathologies of SARS-CoV-infected BALB/c mice that were immunized intradermally with recombinant vaccinia virus (VV) that expressed either the SARS-CoV spike (S) protein (LC16m8rVV-S) or simultaneously all the stru...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in 2002 to 2003 in southern China. The origin of its etiological agent, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), remains elusive. Here we report that species of bats are a natural host of coronaviruses closely related to those responsible for the SARS outbreak. These viruses, termed SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs), display greater genetic variation tha...

In March 2003, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was discovered in association with cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The sequence of the complete genome of SARS-CoV was determined, and the initial characterization of the viral genome is presented in this report. The genome of SARS-CoV is 29,727 nucleotides in length and has 11 open reading frames, and its genome organization is s...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 3C-like protease (3CL(pro) or M(pro)) is an attractive target for the development of anti-SARS drugs because of its crucial role in the viral life cycle. In this study, a compound database was screened by the structure-based virtual screening approach to identify initial hits as inhibitors of SARS-CoV 3CL(pro). Out of the 5...

Vaccine development for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has mainly focused on the spike (S) protein. However, the variation of the S gene between viruses may affect the efficacy of a vaccine, particularly for cross-protection against SARS-like CoV (SL-CoV). Recently, a more conserved group-specific open reading frame (ORF), the 3a gene, was found in both SARS-CoV and SL...

The viral proteases have proven to be the most selective and useful for removing the fusion tags in fusion protein expression systems. As a key enzyme in the viral life-cycle, the main protease (M(pro)) is most attractive for drug design targeting the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the etiological agent responsible for the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. In this stud...

Two novel coronaviruses have emerged to cause severe disease in humans. While bats may be the primary reservoir for both viruses, SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) likely crossed into humans from civets in China, and MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been transmitted from camels in the Middle East. Unlike SARS-CoV that resolved within a year, continued introductions of MERS-CoV present an on-going publ...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a novel human coronavirus (CoV), designated SARS-CoV, is a highly contagious respiratory disease with the lungs as a major target. Although the exact mechanism of SARS-CoV pathogenesis remains unknown, an intense, ill-regulated local inflammatory response has been suggested as partially responsible for the devastating lung pathology. We investi...

The main protease (M(pro)) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) plays an essential role in the extensive proteolytic processing of the viral polyproteins (pp1a and pp1ab), and it is an important target for anti-SARS drug development. It was found that SARS-CoV M(pro) exists in solution as an equilibrium of both monomeric and dimeric forms, and the dimeric form is the enzy...