Ying-Jie Bai

Low-pH-induced conformational changes in the spike protein promote porcine deltacoronavirus infection by enhancing viral binding efficiency to the porcine aminopeptidase receptor

It is demonstrated that low-pH pretreatment of the porcine stomach induces specific conformational changes in the PDCoV S protein, thereby maximizing the exposure of its receptor-binding domain, enhancing its binding to the host receptor, and promoting infection of intestinal epithelial cells.