Frontiers in microbiology
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2020
ReviewMain Clinical Features of COVID-19 and Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Value of the Microbiota in SARS-CoV-2 Infections.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a pandemic, infecting more than 4,000,000 people worldwide. This review describes the main clinical features of COVID-19 and potential role of microbiota in COVID-19. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have 79.5% nucleotide sequence identity and use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors to enter host cells. ⋯ Moreover, the gut microbiota enhances antiviral immunity by increasing the number and function of immune cells, decreasing immunopathology, and stimulating interferon production. In turn, respiratory viruses are known to influence microbial composition in the lung and intestine. Therefore, the analysis of changes in the microbiota during SARS-CoV-2 infection may help predict patient outcomes and allow the development of microbiota-based therapies.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2020
ReviewSubunit Vaccines Against Emerging Pathogenic Human Coronaviruses.
Seven coronaviruses (CoVs) have been isolated from humans so far. Among them, three emerging pathogenic CoVs, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and a newly identified CoV (2019-nCoV), once caused or continue to cause severe infections in humans, posing significant threats to global public health. SARS-CoV infection in humans (with about 10% case fatality rate) was first reported from China in 2002, while MERS-CoV infection in humans (with about 34.4% case fatality rate) was first reported from Saudi Arabia in June 2012. 2019-nCoV was first reported from China in December 2019, and is currently infecting more than 70000 people (with about 2.7% case fatality rate). ⋯ These subunit vaccines are introduced on the basis of full-length spike (S) protein, receptor-binding domain (RBD), non-RBD S protein fragments, and non-S structural proteins, and the potential factors affecting these subunit vaccines are also illustrated. Overall, this review will be helpful for rapid design and development of vaccines against the new 2019-nCoV and any future CoVs with pandemic potential. This review was written for the topic of Antivirals for Emerging Viruses: Vaccines and Therapeutics in the Virology section of Frontiers in Microbiology.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2020
ReviewAntiviral Drugs Against Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Infection.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease caused by SFTS virus (SFTSV), which is a novel bunyavirus. SFTSV was first isolated from patients who presented with fever, thrombocytopenia, leukocytopenia, and multiorgan dysfunction in China. Subsequently, it was found to be widely distributed in Southeast Asia (Korea, Japan, and Vietnam). ⋯ Among them, calcium channel blockers are promising because in addition to their efficacy in vitro and in vivo, retrospective clinical data have indicated that nifedipine, one of the calcium channel blockers, reduced the case fatality rate by >5-fold. Although further research is necessary to develop SFTS-specific therapy, considerable progress has been achieved in this area. Here we summarize and discuss recent advances in antiviral drugs against SFTSV.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2020
Fusobacterium nucleatum Promotes the Progression of Colorectal Cancer Through Cdk5-Activated Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling.
Growing evidence supports the direct link of Fusobacterium nucleatum with colorectal cancer (CRC). However, to date, the underlying mechanism of action remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of F. nucleatum on the progression of CRC and investigated whether cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is involved in the effect through activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. ⋯ The results of this study demonstrate that F. nucleatum orchestrates a molecular network involving the direct role of Cdk5 in activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling to modulate CRC progression. Thus, in-depth investigations of F. nucleatum-associated molecular pathways may offer valuable insight into the pathogenesis of CRC, which may help further the development of treatment for this disease.
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The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is caused by the novel beta coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is currently prevalent all over the world, causing thousands of deaths with relatively high virulence. Like two other notable beta coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 can lead to severe contagious respiratory disease. Due to impaired cellular immunity and physiological changes, pregnant women are susceptible to respiratory disease and are more likely to develop severe pneumonia. ⋯ However, limited data are available for the clinical course and management of COVID-19 in pregnancy. Therefore, we conducted this review to identify strategies for the obstetric management of COVID-19. We compared the clinical course and outcomes of COVID-19, SARS, and MERS in pregnancy and discussed several drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 in pregnancy.