Virus research
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The current COVID-19 pandemic has urged the scientific community internationally to find answers in terms of therapeutics and vaccines to control SARS-CoV-2. Published investigations mostly on SARS-CoV and to some extent on MERS has taught lessons on vaccination strategies to this novel coronavirus. This is attributed to the fact that SARS-CoV-2 uses the same receptor as SARS-CoV on the host cell i.e. human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (hACE2) and is approximately 79% similar genetically to SARS-CoV. ⋯ Various platforms for vaccine development are available namely: virus vectored vaccines, protein subunit vaccines, genetic vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies for passive immunization which are under evaluations for SARS-CoV-2, with each having discrete benefits and hindrances. The COVID-19 pandemic which probably is the most devastating one in the last 100 years after Spanish flu mandates the speedy evaluation of the multiple approaches for competence to elicit protective immunity and safety to curtail unwanted immune-potentiation which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of this virus. This review is aimed at providing an overview of the efforts dedicated to an effective vaccine for this novel coronavirus which has crippled the world in terms of economy, human health and life.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease, caused by a newly emerged highly pathogenic virus called novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Targeting the main protease (Mpro, 3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an appealing approach for drug development because this enzyme plays a significant role in the viral replication and transcription. The available crystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro determined in the presence of different ligands and inhibitor-like compounds provide a platform for the quick development of selective inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. ⋯ Both compounds are structural analogs of known antivirals, having considerable protease inhibitory potential with improved pharmacological properties. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations suggested SARS-CoV-2 Mpro in complex with these compounds is stable during the simulation period with minimal structural changes. This work provides enough evidence for further implementation of the identified compounds in the development of effective therapeutics of COVID-19.
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Meta Analysis
Effect of remdesivir on patients with COVID-19: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials.
Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to investigate the effect of remdesivir for patients with COVID-19, but their results were conflicting. Thus, we conducted a network meta-analysis comparing the rate of clinical improvement among patients with COVID-19 who received 5-day course of remdesivir versus 10-day course of remdesivir versus standard care. ⋯ In addition, the rate of clinical improvement was significantly higher in the 5-day remdesivir group compared to the 10-day remdesivir group (OR [95% confidence interval [CI]] =1.37 [1.01-1.85], P =0.041). Our analysis demonstrated that the use of remdesivir for patients with COVID-19 was associated with the significantly higher clinical improvement rate compared with standard care alone.
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To investigate the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of the current COVID-19 outbreak, a total of 112 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 strains sampled from China and 12 other countries with sampling dates between 24 December 2019 and 9 February 2020 were analyzed. We performed phylogenetic, split network, likelihood-mapping, model comparison, and phylodynamic analyses of the genomes. ⋯ Notably, the very low Re estimates of SARS-CoV-2 during the recent sampling period may be the result of the successful control of the pandemic in China due to extreme societal lockdown efforts. Our results emphasize the importance of using phylodynamic analyses to provide insights into the roles of various interventions to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in China and beyond.
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The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly become a global pandemic. Up to now, numerous medicines have been applied or approved for the prevention and control of the virus infection. However, the efficiency of each medicine or combination is completely different or still unknown. In this review, we discuss the types, characteristics, antiviral mechanisms, and shortcomings of recommended candidate medicines for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as perspectives of the drugs for the disease treatment, which may provide a theoretical basis for drug screening and application.