Coronaviruses - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2022

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a new coronavirus isolated from Wuhan, China. It is a global health emergency, and there is no effective antiviral therapeutics available to date. Continuous structural genomic insights of SARS-CoV-2 proteins provide a warranty for the development of rational- based antivirals. Nevertheless, a structure-based drug candidate with multiple therapeutic actions would be a practical choice of medication in the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients. Cordycepin from medicinal fungi (Cordyceps spp.) and its nucleoside analogs targeting viral RNAdependent RNA polymerase and human RNase L have potent antiviral activity against various human viruses with additional immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Anti-inflammation treatment is of pivotal importance and should be timely tailored to the individual patient along with antivirals. Our perspective on the combined antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects of cordycepin and its analogs suggests them as new therapeutics in the treatment of systemic COVID-19 infection.

In 2012, a coronavirus was isolated from a patient with severe pneumonia. This betacoronavirus, which appeared in Saudi Arabia, was named Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS-CoV is the sixth identified coronavirus that has the ability to infect humans. The Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic pathogen transmitted between animals and humans. To date, MERS-CoV is responsible for an epidemic that is still ongoing, but limited to the Arabian Peninsula, with a total number of more than 2000 cases identified and a mortality rate of around 35%. The largest outbreaks of human-to-human transmission were reported in Jeddah in 2014 and South Korea in 2015. This infection causes a high mortality rate and no vaccine or medical countermeasures are currently available. Currently, no specific treatment or vaccine is available against this virus. The current challenge is to contain the epidemic and continue research efforts to develop a vaccine and a treatment. Certain flavonoids inhibit the replication of viral RNA and have therapeutic potential against viruses and bacteria. Therefore, it is suggested that flavonoids with these characteristics can be used as models to develop potent inhibitors of MERS-CoV. This work reviews current knowledge and provides an update on MERS-CoV and MERS-CoV 3Clpro virology, epidemiology, clinical features, and the use of flavonoids as potential inhibitors and therapeutic agents for MERS-CoV, and MERS-CoV 3Clpro. This review tries to elucidate the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of varied polyphenols against MERS-CoV 3C-like protease (3Clpro).

Covid 19 is a pandemic disease spread almost in the whole world. To date, no medical advancement to curb the virus. Coronavirus is an enveloped virus transmitted from the biological and non-biological surface by direct or indirect contact. Limited literature revealed that the enveloped virus can be killed by disinfectants. There are many biocidal agents used for decontamination of the virus, yet they have many issues like toxicity, killing time, activation requirement, etc. Some are specific to the inanimate surface but not used by a human being. This current situation showed an urgent need for a biocidal agent which can act on biological as well as non-biological surfaces without any potential toxicity. Moreover, it should be easy to handle, inexpensive, and safe for the environment. Hypochlorous acid is a weak acid that acts as a powerful disinfectant and shows biocidal efficacy against a wide range of microorganisms. Hypochlorous acid is simple to use, inexpensive, eco-friendly, non-toxic, and stable. The properties of HOCl can be regulated at the site of preparation and therefore, its compliance is high. Hypochlorous acid seems to be a promising agent in disinfection and sterilization in healthcare facilities. Due to its diverse biocidal actions, it may be used as a potent disinfectant against novel coronavirus.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has taken over the world, and more than 38 lakh deaths had been reported till now due to this infectious disease. It has been declared a global pandemic by the world health organization. SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), and the major problem called “Cytokine storm” is reported, which may lead to death among the COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to review the Cytokine storm and its mechanism along with few immunomodulatory therapies for SARSCoV- 2 infection suppression effectively. Methods: The recently published works of literature were selected and reviewed based on the subject of this study. The databases, including Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched extensively. Results: The review of the literature showed that an uncontrolled immune response causes excess inflammation. Evidence from recent trials has demonstrated that cytokine storms can be an important factor in the COVID-19 severity, leading to multiple organ failure and death. Conclusion: This study reviewed immunomodulatory therapies and strategies for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients to suppress the immune response. Ultimately, the cytokine storm can prove to be a boon and reduce the significant death tolls to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Cushing's syndrome results from prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids. Surgery is often the first-line treatment for this condition, regardless of etiology. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in surgical procedures due to the risk of infection transmission. There are still emergency cases of Cushing’s syndrome that are admitted to the hospital and require urgent management. The current treatment should be focused on medical management and endovascular embolization in selective cases. Embolization can be performed in facilities where there aretrained personnel with experience in adrenal embolization. Surgery, which traditionally is a first-line therapy, can increase the risk of infection, therefore, it should be avoided. The current review provides a brief description of the possible options for the management of adrenal Cushing’s syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year 2020 was the most challenging period due to the havoc caused by the outbreak of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Scientists and researchers all around the world have endeavored every possible approach to find solutions in context to therapeutics and vaccines to control the spread of this life-threatening virus. The acceleration instigated by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 and its mutated strains has leveraged the use of numerous platform technologies for the development of vaccines against this unfathomable disease. Vaccines could play an important role in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 and reducing the ongoing health crisis. Various innovative platforms like proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, and viral vectors have been exploited to fabricate vaccines depicting almost 90% of efficacy like BNT162b2, AZD1222, Ad5-nCoV, etc. Some of these vaccines are multipotent and have shown potent activity against newly emerged malicious strains of SARS-CoV-2 like B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. In this review article, we have gathered key findings from various sources of recently popularized vaccine candidates, which will provide an overview of potential vaccine candidates against this virus and will help the researchers to investigate possible ways to annihilate this menace and design new moieties.

Liver enzyme abnormalities occur frequently in patients diagnosed with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been suggested that patients with severe acute liver injury are more likely to be admitted to intensive care, require intubation or renal replacement therapy and their mortality rate is higher than patients without severe acute liver injury. This review article explores the possible aetiologies of liver dysfunction seen in patients with COVID-19 and also the effect of COVID-19 on patients with pre-existing liver disease. Finally, we suggest clinical approaches to treating a patient with liver enzyme disturbance and COVID-19 and also caring for patients who require liver transplantation in the COVID-19 era.

The inception of the COVID-19 pandemic has jeopardized humanity with markedly dampening of worldwide resources. The viral infection may present with varying signs and symptoms, imitating pneumonia and seasonal flu. With a gradual course, this may progress and result in the deadliest state of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury (ALI). Moreover, following recovery from the severe brunt of COVID-19 infection, interstitial portions of alveoli have been found to undergo residual scarring and further to have compromised air exchange. Such alterations in the lung microenvironment and associated systemic manifestations have been recognized to occur due to the extensive release of cytokines. The mortality rate increases with advancing age and in individuals with underlying co-morbidity. Presently, there is no availability of specific antiviral therapy or any other definitive modality to counter this progressive worsening. However, we believe principles and advancing cell-based therapy may prove fruitful in subjugating such reported worsening in these patients. This article reviews eminent knowledge and relevant advancements about the amelioration of lung damage due to COVID-19 infection using adipose tissue- derived - total stromal fraction (TSF).

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), also known as a novel coronavirus (2019-n- CoV), reportedly originated from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Coronavirus Disease 2019 rapidly spread all over the world within a short period. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global epidemic. COVID-19 is a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) evolves to respiratory, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and neurological complications, and eventually death. SARS-CoV and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) genome sequences similar identity with 2019-nCoV or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, few amino acid sequences of 2019-nCoV differ from SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. COVID-19 shares about 90% amino acid sequence similarity with SARS-CoV. Effective prevention methods should be taken in order to control this pandemic situation. To date, there are no effective treatments available to treat COVID-19. This review provides information regarding COVID-19 history, epidemiology, pathogenesis and molecular diagnosis. Also, we focus on the development of vaccines in the management of this COVID-19 pandemic and limiting the spread of the virus.

Background: The development of a specific curative drug or prophylactic and vaccine is urgently required to cure COVID-19. Sulfonamide and its derivatives are famous for their multifaceted antibiotic and antiviral activities against verities of a pathogen. Objective: The objective of this study is to find new potential molecules for COVID-19 treatment. We tested some sulfonamide molecules (including antiviral compounds) as SARS CoV-2 M^pro inhibitors. Methods: In this study, the Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Docking study have been utilized for protein-small molecule affinity prediction. The SwissADME server was used for pharmacokinetics and drug-like likeness prediction, and the Pred-hERG server was employed for cardiotoxicity prediction. Results: In this study, sixteen sulfonamides have been investigated in silico, with a perspective to obtaining a potential anti-covid compound. The sulfonamides have been subjected to molecular docking with SARS CoV-2 M^pro, mainly responsible for viral infection and replication. We discover the molecular flexibility and charge distribution profoundly affecting the binding of the compounds to the protein. Moderately flexible (six rotatable bond) and less polar (sufficient hydrophobic) sulfonamide are favorable for strong binding with the enzyme. Here, the bioavailability properties like adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, pharmacokinetics, and potential toxicity of these compounds have also been checked. Conclusion: Low cardio-toxicity and high bioavailability make these sulfonamides a good anti- COVID-19 drug option. The sulfonamide 16 was found to be the best.