Reposted by @anirbanius.bsky.social
Important new research identities a natural bat coronavirus HKU5 that uses the ACE-2 receptor to enter cells & can infect human cells this way. VERY similar mechanism to SarsCoV2 (covid-19) and reinforces research showing origins of Covid 19 likely was NATURAL 🧪
cell.com
Bat-infecting merbecovirus HKU5-CoV lineage 2 can use human ACE2 as a cell entry receptor
Coronaviruses of the merbecovirus family have been thought to enter cells by using
the host cell receptor DPP4. This study identifies a merbecovirus from Pipistrellus
bats that is capable of entering ...