Advances in the etiology of COVID-19 / 新型冠状病毒肺炎的病原学研究进展

ABSTRACT

In December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan. It is a kind of enveloped positive-strand RNA viruses, belonging to the subgenus Sarbecovirus of the genus Betacoronavirus. It is similar to other viruses of the subgenus Sarbecovirus in genomic structure and closely related to the bat coronavirus (RaTG13), indicating that its natural host is likely to be bat, but the intermediate host is still controversial. SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor. At present, SARS-CoV-2 has undergone some mutations. This article reviewed the current research situation and progress in the etiology of COVID-19.

摘要

2019年12月，新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）在武汉暴发，其病原体为严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）。该病毒是一种有包膜的单股正链RNA病毒，属于β冠状病毒属Sarbecovirus亚属。其基因组结构和其他Sarbecovirus亚属相似，与其亲缘关系最近的是蝙蝠冠状病毒RaTG13，说明其自然宿主很有可能是蝙蝠，但中间宿主仍不清楚。SARS-CoV-2亦通过血管紧张素转换酶2（ACE2）作为受体感染宿主细胞。目前，SARS-CoV-2已经发生了一些突变。本文对COVID-19的病原学研究进展进行综述。