Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43)

Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus Betacoronavirus and the species Betacoronavirus 1 (NCBI Taxonomy, 2024). It is one of the most common causes of the human common cold, typically manifesting as mild upper respiratory tract infections, though it can cause severe lower respiratory disease in infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients (StatPearls, 2023). The virus enters host cells by binding to 9-O-acetylated sialic acids on the cell surface via its Spike (S) protein (UniProt, 2024). While HCoV-OC43 itself is a pathogen rather than a single molecular target, its specific proteins—such as the 3C-like protease (3CLpro) and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)—serve as critical targets for antiviral drug development. Research into HCoV-OC43 has gained prominence as a surrogate model for more pathogenic coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 due to its shared structural and functional characteristics (PubMed, 2022). Therapeutic strategies against HCoV-OC43 focus on inhibiting its structural proteins or non-structural proteins to prevent viral replication and assembly (PubMed, 2021).

Other names

HCoV-OC43Human coronavirus OC43Betacoronavirus 1OC43

Antiviral agents targeting HCoV-OC43 typically act by inhibiting the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) to prevent genome replication, or by blocking the Spike protein's interaction with host cell sialic acid receptors to prevent entry.