Letter abstract


Nature Medicine 15, 798 - 801 (2009)
Published online: 21 June 2009 | doi:10.1038/nm.1992

Scavenger receptor B2 is a cellular receptor for enterovirus 71

Seiya Yamayoshi1,2,5, Yasuko Yamashita1, Jifen Li1,5, Nobutaka Hanagata3,4, Takashi Minowa3, Taro Takemura3 & Satoshi Koike1,5

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Enterovirus 71 (EV71) belongs to human enterovirus species A of the genus Enterovirus within the family Picornaviridae1. EV71, together with coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16), are most frequently associated with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD)1. Although HFMD is considered a mild exanthematous infection, infections involving EV71, but not CVA16, can progress to severe neurological disease, including fatal encephalitis, aseptic meningitis and acute flaccid paralysis2. In recent years, epidemic and sporadic outbreaks of neurovirulent EV71 infections have been reported in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and China3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Here, we show that human scavenger receptor class B, member 2 (SCARB2, also known as lysosomal integral membrane protein II or CD36b like-2) is a receptor for EV71. EV71 binds soluble SCARB2 or cells expressing SCARB2, and the binding is inhibited by an antibody to SCARB2. Expression of human SCARB2 enables normally unsusceptible cell lines to support EV71 propagation and develop cytopathic effects. EV71 infection is hampered by the antibody to SCARB2 and soluble SCARB2. SCARB2 also supports the infection of the milder pathogen CVA16. The identification of SCARB2 as an EV71 and CVA16 receptor contributes to a better understanding of the pathogenicity of these viruses.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Tokyo Metropolitan Organization for Medical Research, Tokyo, Japan.
  2. Japan Health Sciences Foundation, Tokyo, Japan.
  3. Nanotechnology Innovation Center, National Institute for Materials Science, Ibaraki, Japan.
  4. Biomaterials Center, National Institute for Materials Science, Ibaraki, Japan.
  5. Present addresses: Neurovirology Project, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Organization for Medical Research, Tokyo, Japan (S.Y. and S.K.) and Center for Translational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (J.L.).

Correspondence to: Satoshi Koike1,5 e-mail: koike-st@igakuken.or.jp




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