Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly emerging infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The SARS-CoV spike (S) protein is composed of two subunits; the S1 subunit contains a receptor-binding domain that engages with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and the S2 subunit mediates fusion between the viral and host cell membranes. The S protein plays key parts in the induction of neutralizing-antibody and T-cell responses, as well as protective immunity, during infection with SARS-CoV. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in the development of vaccines and therapeutics based on the S protein.

Author affiliations

1. Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street, New York, New York 10065, USA.
2. State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China.
3. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
4. Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Correspondence to: Shibo Jiang¹ Email: sjiang@nybloodcenter.org

Published online 9 February 2009

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