The Innate Immune Barriers that Constrain the Emergence of Coronaviruses into the Human Population

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the consequences of coronaviruses jumping from an animal into humans. Coronaviruses originate in bats and rodents but can also jump into humans via an intermediate species such as camels or cows. Immune defences that we inherit, such as interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), are important in determining whether we can be successfully infected by animal viruses. However, very few ISGs that specifically inhibit coronaviruses have been identified. Our lab has built a large library of ISGs from many species including humans, monkeys and cows and we will use this to test their antiviral activity against coronaviruses found in bats as well as coronaviruses that already infect humans. Since SARS-CoV-2 is unlikely to be the last animal coronavirus to transmit to humans, learning how these ISGs protect us from coronavirus infection will strengthen our understanding of the immune barriers that hinder the cross-species transmission of coronaviruses, and help determine the risk posed by animal coronaviruses to human health.