We thank Dr. J. Bara (INSERM, Villejuif, France) for providing the anti-H and anti-A mAbs and Dr. A. Blancher for helpful discussions. Conflict of interest statement None declared. Abbreviations ACE2 angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 CHO chinese hamster ovary CoV coronavirus EGFP enhanced green fluorescent protein HBGA histo-blood group antigen; mAb, monoclonal antibody PBS phosphate buffered saline RBD receptor binding domain RBM receptor binding motif S protein spike protein SARS-CoV severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus S-EGFP S protein-EGFP fusion construction