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Details of the life cycle of SARS coronavirus

July 08, 2003

A team of scientists studying Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has, for the first time, described how the SARS virus manufactures several of the materials required for making copies of itself. "It is essential, when you are looking for ways to stop a disease, that you know exactly how viruses make copies of themselves and spread," explained Dr John Ziebuhr, from the University of Würzburg in Germany.

The team has revealed which materials (nucleic acids and proteins) are produced by SARS coronavirus (SARS CoV) inside infected cells. These biological molecules are essential for copies of the virus to be made (a process known as viral replication). "This work could lead to the development of effective anti-SARS drugs. Now that we know the properties of some of the proteins necessary for viral replication, we can discover ways to stop it, and prevent the virus from spreading", said Dr Ziebuhr.

Now, the scientists are looking for ways to stop viral replication by stopping the essential proteins from working properly. They have found that one essential protein in particular, called coronavirus main proteinase, is almost identical in every coronavirus studied so far, including SARS CoV. This fact will allow them to use existing information about the structure of other coronaviruses' main proteinases to design inhibitors of the SARS CoV main proteinase.

SARS is a life-threatening form of pneumonia. In the course of a few months, an epidemic emerged that spread from its likely origin in Guangdong Province, Southern China, to 32 countries. It is caused by a new coronavirus, termed SARS CoV. Coronaviruses have by far the largest RNA genome and their life cycle inside host cells differs in several ways from all other RNA viruses. Coronaviruses mainly cause diseases of the respiratory tract and intestine in humans, livestock and domestic animals.

By the end of June 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) had recorded about 8,400 cases and 800 deaths. The rapid spread of the disease and the high number of deaths makes SARS a global threat for which no effective treatment is available.

Society for General Microbiology

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