{
  "abstract": "Coronaviruses circulating in wildlife, such as European and Asian hedgehog merbecoviruses (EriCoVs), pose a potential transmission risk. Knowledge of viral receptors can inform risk assessment and development of countermeasures; however, the functional receptor for EriCoVs is unknown. Here we identify hedgehog aminopeptidase N (APN) as a functional receptor for various EriCoVs. Analysis of APN orthologues from 93 species reveals a restricted APN tropism for EriCoVs, primarily utilizing APN from hedgehogs and to a lesser extent felid APN. Cryogenic electron microscopy analysis of the EriCoV–APN complex reveals an APN-binding mode that is distinct from those used by alpha- and deltacoronaviruses. Functional assays suggest that proteolytic activation of EriCoV spikes can be facilitated by multiple proteases in a context- and strain-dependent manner. Neutralizing antibodies targeting the EriCoV receptor-binding domain and hedgehog APN effectively blocked EriCoV pseudovirus entry or amplification. Receptor-binding-domain-targeting antibodies were further elucidated by cryogenic electron microscopy analysis. Together, these findings can inform assessment of merbecovirus spillover and pathogenesis.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Hubei Provincial Research Center for Basic Biological Sciences, College of Life Sciences, TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China",
    "Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecules (CAS), National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China",
    "University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China",
    "Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), Peking University, Beijing, China",
    "Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China",
    "College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China",
    "Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, China",
    "Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 25,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peng Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Qianhui Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jingyi Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhixing Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Guocui Mou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yuanling Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chen Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chengbao Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Junyu Si"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiao Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Meiling Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanchu Liu",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-8411-7470"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yehui Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiao Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yucheng Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tianci Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Lingling Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Qianran Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Honghao Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Qi Lv"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jing Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Linlin Bao",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4869-3777"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Yunlong Cao",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5918-1078"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xiangxi Wang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0635-278X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Huan Yan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8744-8665"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1hmaycfs938aa.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41564-026-02478-1",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13716839/",
  "id": "1hmaycfs938aa",
  "issns": [
    "2058-5276"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02478-1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1103|Animal Virus Infections Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213258019",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13716839",
  "pmid": "42749892",
  "published": "2026-09-16",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1hmaycfs938aa.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:24:02Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13716839",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02478-1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1103|Animal Virus Infections Studies",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Convergent use of aminopeptidase N receptor by hedgehog merbecoviruses",
  "title_text": "Convergent use of aminopeptidase N receptor by hedgehog merbecoviruses",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-02T12:21:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1hmaycfs938aa",
  "venue": "Nature Microbiology",
  "versions": []
}