A Comparison of Conserved Features in the Human Coronavirus Family Shows That Studies of Viruses Less Pathogenic than SARS-CoV-2, Such as HCoV-OC43, Are Good Model Systems for Elucidating Basic Mechanisms of Infection and Replication in Standard Laboratories

Bibliographic Details
Title: A Comparison of Conserved Features in the Human Coronavirus Family Shows That Studies of Viruses Less Pathogenic than SARS-CoV-2, Such as HCoV-OC43, Are Good Model Systems for Elucidating Basic Mechanisms of Infection and Replication in Standard Laboratories
Authors: Audrey L. Heffner, Tracey A. Rouault
Source: Viruses, Vol 17, Iss 2, p 256 (2025)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Microbiology
Subject Terms: endemic coronaviruses, cytopathic effect, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, Microbiology, QR1-502
More Details: In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus research spiked, with over 83,000 original research articles related to the word “coronavirus” added to the online resource PubMed. Just 2 years later, in 2023, only 30,900 original research articles related to the word “coronavirus” were added. While, irrefutably, the funding of coronavirus research drastically decreased, a possible explanation for the decrease in interest in coronavirus research is that projects on SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, halted due to the challenge of establishing a good cellular or animal model system. Most laboratories do not have the capabilities to culture SARS-CoV-2 ‘in house’ as this requires a Biosafety Level (BSL) 3 laboratory. Until recently, BSL 2 laboratory research on endemic coronaviruses was arduous due to the low cytopathic effect in isolated cell culture infection models and the lack of means to quantify viral loads. The purpose of this review article is to compare the human coronaviruses and provide an assessment of the latest techniques that use the endemic coronaviruses—HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1—as lower-biosafety-risk models for the more pathogenic coronaviruses—SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1999-4915
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/2/256; https://doaj.org/toc/1999-4915
DOI: 10.3390/v17020256
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/85401771313442a486ed98099fafdacc
Accession Number: edsdoj.85401771313442a486ed98099fafdacc
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:19994915
DOI:10.3390/v17020256
Published in:Viruses
Language:English