Overview

• The June Nature Communications paper reveals HKU5 can bind bat ACE2 receptors but has limited ability to engage human ACE2.
• Laboratory analyses identified specific spike protein mutations that could enable HKU5 to infect human cells.
• A documented HKU5 strain has already jumped from bats into farmed minks, demonstrating cross-species transmission potential.
• Researchers employed AlphaFold3 to model HKU5’s spike-ACE2 interactions, cutting structural analysis time from months to minutes.
• Scientists from Washington State University, Caltech and UNC stress ongoing surveillance to catch dangerous mutations early.