Similar to SARS-CoV-2, the new respiratory virus discovered among bats, known as Khosta-2, is covered in spike proteins that can infect human cells using the same entryways.
In the lab, this bat pathogen was able to use the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on human liver cells to infect tissue in much the same way as SARS-CoV-2.
While Khosta-1 was not able to infect human cells on its own in the lab, when a protein-eating enzyme was artificially added to the scene, the virus was suddenly able to gain entry to human cells using a different gate.
"[T]hese findings collectively suggest that some coronaviruses may infect human cells through a presently unknown receptor," the authors write.
In the lab, when the receptor binding domains on a SARS-CoV-2 virus were replaced with Khosta-2 binding domains, serum from vaccinated individuals was less effective at neutralizing the pseudovirus.
"Unfortunately, many of our current vaccines are designed to specific viruses we know infect human cells or those that seem to pose the biggest risk to infect us.
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