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Isolation of a SARS-CoV-2 strain from pediatric patients in South Korea: Biologic and genetic characterization
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  • Hee Chun Chung,
  • Sung Jae Kim,
  • Su Jin Hwang,
  • Sung Hoon Park,
  • Kyoung Min Park,
  • Hyeon Woo Chung,
  • Si Hwan Ko,
  • Dong il Park,
  • Jun-Yeop Shim,
  • Van Giap Nguyen,
  • Jae Myun Lee
Hee Chun Chung
Yonsei University College of Medicine
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Sung Jae Kim
Kyungbok University - Namyangju Campus
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Su Jin Hwang
Yonsei University College of Medicine
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Sung Hoon Park
Yonsei University College of Medicine
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Kyoung Min Park
R&F Chemical Co Ltd
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Hyeon Woo Chung
Yonsei University College of Medicine
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Si Hwan Ko
Yonsei University College of Medicine
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Dong il Park
R&F Chemical Co Ltd
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Jun-Yeop Shim
R&F Chemical Co Ltd
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Van Giap Nguyen
Vietnam National University of Agriculture
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Jae Myun Lee
Yonsei University College of Medicine

Corresponding Author:jaemyun@yuhs.ac

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Abstract

A SARS-CoV-2, N15 strain was successfully isolated from the nasal swab of a pediatric patient after five blind passages in Vero cells. The biological properties of this isolate were investigated extensively. Cytopathic effects (CPE) were observed within 48 hours post- infection, characterized by aggregates of dead cells. The N15 isolate demonstrated the ability to replicate across various human-origin cell lines, albeit with different growth kinetics. Genetic analyses revealed that the strain belongs to the 19B lineage of SARS-CoV-2, showing 99.9% similarity to the original Wuhan 1 strain. Importantly, the N15 strain did not exhibit genetic signatures of in-vitro adaptation and possessed rare mutations N709S in the spike protein and T11M in the E protein. Drug testing indicated that Remdesivir, Molnupiravir, and Nirmatrelvir effectively inhibited this isolate at varying concentrations. The N15 isolate may serve as valuable material for comparative studies with currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.