PMC:7643666 / 21664-22997 JSONTXT

{"target":"https://pubannotation.org/docs/sourcedb/PMC/sourceid/7643666","sourcedb":"PMC","sourceid":"7643666","source_url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/7643666","text":"Our data show that a conserved pattern of residues is present in ACE2 proteins of many animal species, in particular horses (Equus caballus), cats (Felis catus), cattle (Bos taurus), and sheep (Ovis aries), among the domestic animals, European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) among the wild animals. Considering these data, animal species present in Italy could be considered SARS-CoV-2 secondary reservoirs, or else could behave as host intermediate if infected by bat coronaviruses. On the contrary, ACE2 proteins of animals like dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) that do not exhibit this residue pattern, are not eligible as SARS-CoV-2 host intermediates. These results agree with recently published data that exclude pigs as infection transmitters and recognize dogs as low susceptible to the experimental infection [6]. On the other hand, cats (and other animals) may be a silent intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, because infected cats have never shown any visible symptoms that might be recognized by their owners [10]. The high conservation rate of ACE2 residues may suggest that also farm animals such as cattle and sheep may be endangered by a viral transmission, and finally, the horse can be a potential intermediate host transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.","tracks":[]}