Exp Mol Med.  2015 Aug;47(8):e181. 10.1038/emm.2015.76.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: transmission, virology and therapeutic targeting to aid in outbreak control

• Durai P
• Batool M
• Shah M
• Choi S

• KMID: 2155435
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2015.76

Abstract

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes high fever, cough, acute respiratory tract infection and multiorgan dysfunction that may eventually lead to the death of the infected individuals. MERS-CoV is thought to be transmitted to humans through dromedary camels. The occurrence of the virus was first reported in the Middle East and it subsequently spread to several parts of the world. Since 2012, about 1368 infections, including ~487 deaths, have been reported worldwide. Notably, the recent human-to-human \'superspreading' of MERS-CoV in hospitals in South Korea has raised a major global health concern. The fatality rate in MERS-CoV infection is four times higher compared with that of the closely related severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection. Currently, no drug has been clinically approved to control MERS-CoV infection. In this study, we highlight the potential drug targets that can be used to develop anti-MERS-CoV therapeutics.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antiviral Agents/*pharmacology
Cell Line
Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy/*epidemiology/metabolism/*transmission
Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4/metabolism
Disease Outbreaks
Drug Discovery
Host-Pathogen Interactions/drug effects
Humans
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus/drug effects/*physiology
Molecular Targeted Therapy
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/metabolism
Antiviral Agents
Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus