Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Apr 22;9(4):307.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens9040307.

Origin, Potential Therapeutic Targets and Treatment for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Affiliations
Review

Origin, Potential Therapeutic Targets and Treatment for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Muhammad Shahid Nadeem et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

The ongoing episode of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has imposed a serious threat to global health and the world economy. The disease has rapidly acquired a pandemic status affecting almost all populated areas of the planet. The causative agent of COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. The virus has an approximate 30 kb single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome, which is 74.5% to 99% identical to that of SARS-CoV, CoV-pangolin, and the coronavirus the from horseshoe bat. According to available information, SARS-CoV-2 is inferred to be a recombinant virus that originated from bats and was transmitted to humans, possibly using the pangolin as the intermediate host. The interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with the human ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) receptor, and its subsequent cleavage by serine protease and fusion, are the main events in the pathophysiology. The serine protease inhibitors, spike protein-based vaccines, or ACE2 blockers may have therapeutic potential in the near future. At present, no vaccine is available against COVID-19. The disease is being treated with antiviral, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, herbal medicines, and active plasma antibodies. In this context, the present review article provides a cumulative account of the recent information regarding the viral characteristics, potential therapeutic targets, treatment options, and prospective research questions.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; challenges; origin; pathogenesis; therapeutics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intermediate hosts for the SARS virus (civet cat), the MERS virus (camel), and the possible intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2 (pangolin or snake). The dotted lines indicate intermediate hosts under investigation (adopted and modified from literature) [33,34,43].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The interaction of the viral S-protein with ACE2, its subsequent activation by protease (TMPRSS2), and its viral entry into the cell. The schematic primary structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is elaborated indicating the major domains. SS—signal sequence, RBD—receptor binding domain, RBD subdomains 1 and 2—SD1 and SD2, S1/S2—the protease cleavage site, S2′—the protease restriction site indicated by the arrows, FP—fusion peptide, HR1 and HR2—heptad repeats 1 and 2, CH—central helix, CD—connector domain, TM—transmembrane domain, and CT—cytoplasmic tail. (The schematic was adopted and modified from [87,88].)

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Huang C., Wang Y., Li X., Ren L., Zhao J., Hu Y., Zhang L., Fan G., Xu J., Gu X., et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020;395:497–506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19)–China. [(accessed on 17 February 2020)];2020 Available online: http://weekly.chinacdc.cn/en/article/id/e53946e2-c6c4-41e9-9a9b-fea8db1a....
    1. Wang C., Horby P.W., Hayden F.G., Gao G.F. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet. 2020;395:470–473. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30185-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen D., Xu W., Lei Z., Huang Z., Liu J., Gao Z., Peng L. Recurrence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in COVID-19: A case report. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2020;93:297–299. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO . Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19—3 March 2020. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: Mar 3, 2020.

LinkOut - more resources