Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42749891›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2026

Aminopeptidase N is a receptor for hedgehog merbecoviruses.

Min Jin, Victoria A Jefferson, Zhe Zhao, Nicholas J Catanzaro, Luca De Sabato, Emma L Keeler, Bridget L Menasche, Cameron Hoffman, Boyd L Yount, Anna Castelli and 14 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Min Jin *Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-1155-9890
Victoria A Jefferson *Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3056-1813
Zhe ZhaoDepartments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4119-0504
Nicholas J CatanzaroDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Heath, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0210-8440
Luca De SabatoDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Emma L KeelerDepartments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Bridget L MenascheDepartments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3520-2422
Cameron HoffmanDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Heath, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Boyd L YountDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Heath, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Anna CastelliVirology Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4451-7330
Ilaria Di BartoloDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Gabriele VaccariDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-3521
Tyler N StarrDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6713-6904
Stephanie N SeifertPaul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4397-6156
Adrian A CastellanosCary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA.
Barbara A HanCary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9948-3078
Leonid SerebryannyyVaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Alicen B SpauldingVaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4687-3259
Daniel C DouekVaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5575-8634
Ana MorenoVirology Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy.
Ralph S BaricDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Heath, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6827-8701
Craig B WilenDepartments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2495-9403
James M RiniDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0952-2409
Michael LetkoPaul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA. michael.letko@wsu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7640-2861

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Merbecoviruses, closely related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, circulate in hedgehogs throughout Europe and Asia, raising concerns about zoonotic transmission to humans and domestic animals. However, it is not clear how these viruses enter host cells. Here we tested three coronavirus receptors from European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in cell-based assays and identified aminopeptidase N (APN) as a receptor for hedgehog merbecoviruses. We verified it by pseudotype experiments using an in vitro reporter system based on replication competent vesicular stomatitis virus and protein binding assays. Hedgehog coronavirus spike proteins showed enhanced infectivity when produced at 33 °C, approximating the physiological hedgehog body temperature, as compared with 37 °C. A screen of 30 mammalian APN orthologues showed restricted cross-species receptor use, including the inability to use human APN. Electron cryomicroscopy revealed a distinct glycoprotein-receptor interface unlike known coronavirus spike-APN interactions, clarifying species barriers. These findings broaden our understanding of receptor use across merbecoviruses and betacoronaviruses and inform risk assessments for viral emergence.

Identifiers

PMID42749891

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.