The use of cells from ANPEP knockout pigs to evaluate the role of aminopeptidase N (APN) as a receptor for porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV).

In this study, the biological relevance of APN as a receptor for PDCoV was tested by using CRISPR/Cas9 to knockout the APN gene, ANPEP, in pigs. Porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) from ANPEP knockout (KO) pigs showed resistance to PDCoV infection. However, lung fibroblast-like cells, derived from the ANPEP KO PAM cultures, supported PDCoV infection to high levels. The results suggest that APN is a receptor for PDCoV in PAMs but is not necessary for infection of lung-derived fibroblast cells. The infection of the ANPEP KO pigs with PDCoV further confirmed that APN is dispensable as a receptor for PDCoV.
PMID: 32056711 [PubMed - in process]

Source: Virology - January 31, 2020 Category: Virology Authors: Stoian A, Rowland RRR, Petrovan V, Sheahan M, Samuel MS, Whitworth KM, Wells KD, Zhang J, Beaton B, Cigan M, Prather RS Tags: Virology Source Type: research