Mini-Review: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Host Immune Responses ◽

Worldwide Distribution ◽

Close Relationship ◽

On 31 December 2019, the cases of pneumonia caused by unknown etiology had emerged. These cases were reported in Wuhan city, Hubei Province of China. Chinese authorities identified the causative agent and announced to be a novel coronavirus. The tentative name of disease is COVID-19, abbreviating of coronavirus disease-19. The incubation period of the disease ranges from 2 to 14 days, however, 80% of the patients have mild or asymptomatic illness while 15 % and 5% of the patients had exhibited sever and critical cases respectively. The etiology of COVID-19 was known as SARS-CoV-2 and belongs to betacoranviruse as reported by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) especially Coronaviridae Study Group (CSG). In addition, this virus is currently believed to be within bat-coronaviruses besides it possesses a close relationship with SARS-CoV more than MERS-CoV. Although, the majority of the diagnosed patients had symptoms, there were asymptomatic persons who can spread the SARS-CoV-2. Upon the emergence of worldwide distribution of this virus, the WHO had declared it as a global outbreak and pandemic. Unfortunately, at present time, there are neither vaccine and nor an approved COVID-19 specific drug against SARS-CoV-2. One of the remarkable pathogenesis mechanistic step of this virus is taking possession of the affinity to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This mini-review summarizes the origin and molecular identification of the virus as well as the host immune responses. SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19, ACE2, origin

Gastrointestinal symptoms in the course of COVID-19

Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0014.5459 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 74 ◽

pp. 498-503

Author(s):

Grzegorz K. Jakubiak ◽

Józefina Ochab-Jakubiak ◽

Grzegorz Cieślar ◽

Agata Stanek

Keyword(s):

Intestinal Inflammation ◽

Gastrointestinal Symptoms ◽

Unknown Etiology ◽

Wuhan City ◽

Current State ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Loss Of Appetite ◽

First Time

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a betacoronavirus comprised of single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA), the first time reported in December 2019 as pneumonia with unknown etiology in Wuhan City in China. It is a very important current problem for public health worldwide. A typical clinical course includes dyspnoea, dry cough and fever. In the presented paper we conducted the literature review and described the most important facts within the current state of knowledge about symptomatology and pathophysiology of gastrointestinal dysfunction in the course of COVID-19. Data about prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in the course of COVID-19 show wide divergence in the cited literature. Generally, the most common reported digestive symptoms were loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Liver injury in the course of COVID-19 is also an important and not well understood problem. The virus has high affinity to cells containing angiotensin- -converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein. Digestive symptoms of COVID-19 may be associated with ACE2 expression in epithelial cells in upper oesophagus, ileum and colon. Previous scientific reports have elucidated the role of ACE2 in modulating intestinal inflammation and diarrhoea.

Can Mandated BCG Vaccine Promote herd Immunity against Novel Coronavirus? A Potential Solution at Hand to Tackle Covid-19 Pandemic

Current Immunology Reviews ◽

10.2174/1573395516999201112092557 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 6-11

Author(s):

Ashok Arasu ◽

Pavithra Balakrishnan ◽

Thirunavukkarasu Velusamy ◽

Thiagarajan Ramesh

Keyword(s):

Protective Factor ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Bcg Vaccine ◽

Intestinal Cells ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Wuhan City ◽

Live Attenuated Vaccine ◽

Lung Epithelial ◽

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection is an emerging pandemic that poses a severe threat to global public health. This pandemic started from the Wuhan City of Hubei Province in China, and is speculated to have originated from bats and spread among humans with an unknown intermediate transmitter. The virus binds to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is abundantly expressed on various human cells, including lung epithelial and intestinal cells, thereby entering into these cells and causing infection. It is transmitted to other humans through airborne droplets from infected patients. Presently there are no specific treatments or vaccines that are available to curtail the spread of this disease. There are few indirect reports that explain the potential importance of the mandated BCG vaccine as a protective factor against COVID-19. There is a speculation that a live attenuated vaccine (BCG vaccine) can be beneficial against COVID-19 to develop the initial immune response, and can also spread in the community, thereby boosting herd immunity to fight against COVID-19. This review summarizes the conclusions of various reports on the BCG vaccine, and is an attempt to establish BCG-vaccination mediated herd immunity as an effective instant intermediate approach in curbing COVID-19 spread in highly populous countries.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Neurology Clinical Practice ◽

10.1212/cpj.0000000000000879 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000879 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Seyed Amir Ebrahimzadeh ◽

Abdoreza Ghoreishi ◽

Nasrin Rahimian

Keyword(s):

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Respiratory Symptoms ◽

Guillain Barre Syndrome ◽

Unknown Etiology ◽

Neurologic Complications ◽

Wuhan City ◽

First Case ◽

Guillain Barré Syndrome ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Guillain Barré

In December 2019, the first case of pneumonia with unknown etiology was reported in Wuhan city, China. The identified pathogen was a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).1 Since then, the virus has spread rapidly worldwide. Although Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) typically presents with upper or lower respiratory symptoms, there have been rare reports of significant neurologic complications.2,3 Recently, a few reports presented cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after COVID-19.4,5 In this report, we describe 2 cases of GBS that occurred following COVID-19.

Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients: a threat to an active otolaryngologist

International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery ◽

10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20203591 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (9) ◽

pp. 1762

Author(s):

Ravinder Singh Nagi ◽

Satinder Pal Singh ◽

Prahlad Duggal

Keyword(s):

World Health Organization ◽

International Committee ◽

World Health ◽

Study Group ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization

<p class="Noindentpara">A new virus was reported for causing a spurt of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei 56 province in China in December 2019. This coronavirus, was initially named as the 2019- novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on 12 January 2020 by World Health Organization (WHO). WHO officially named the disease as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) and coronavirus study group (CSG) of the International Committee proposed to name the new Coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2, both issued on 11 February 2020.</p>

SeXX and COVID-19: Tussle between the Two

10.20944/preprints202006.0159.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ashlesh Patil ◽

Jaya Prasad Tripathy ◽

Vishwajit Deshmukh ◽

Bharat Sontakke ◽

Satyendra C. Tripathi

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Occupational Exposures ◽

Point Of View ◽

Host Immune Responses ◽

Social Inequities ◽

Biological Explanation ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Biological Differences

Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected nearly 7 million individuals and claimed more than 0.4 million lives to date. There are several reports of gender differences related to infection and death due to COVID-19. This raises important questions such as “Whether there are differences based on gender in risk and severity of infection or mortality rate?” and “What are the biological explanation and mechanisms underlying these differences?” Emerging evidence has proposed sex-based immunological, genetic, and hormonal differences to explain this ambiguity. Besides biological differences, women have also faced social inequities and economic hardships due to this pandemic. Several recent studies have shown that independent of age males are at higher risk for severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Although susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 was found to be similar across both genders in several disease cohorts, a disproportionate death ratio in men can be partly explained by the higher burden of pre-existing diseases and occupational exposures among men. From an immunological point of view, females can engage a more active immune response, which may protect them and counter infectious diseases as compared to men. This attribute of better immune responses towards pathogens is thought to be due to high estrogen levels in females. Here we review the current knowledge about sex differences in susceptibility, the severity of infection and mortality, host immune responses, and the role of sex hormones in COVID-19 disease.

Histopathology and Pathogenesis of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine ◽

10.53986/ibjm.2020.0040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 230-234

Author(s):

Nikolaos Chrysanthakopoulos ◽

Keyword(s):

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Good Prognosis ◽

Multiple Organ ◽

World Health ◽

The Novel ◽

Corona Virus ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization

A severe pandemic of CoronaVirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to World Health Organization (WHO), appeared in China in December 2019, and spread rapidly. The majority of the patients had mild symptoms and good prognosis after recovery; however some patients developed severe inflammatory reaction and passed away from multiple organ complications. The novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a beta-coronavirus and is similar with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). SARS-CoV-2 and -1 have the same host receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans remains unclear. The immune response is essential to control and reduce SARS-CoV-1 and -2 infections, however, irregular and exaggerated immune responses may lead to the immunopathology of the disease and the lung lesions. This article presents the immunological features of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its potential pathogenesis based on the recent observations of the International literature.

COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: A review

Babcock University Medical Journal (BUMJ) ◽

10.38029/bumj.v3i1.29 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 11-26

Author(s):

Charles Elikwu ◽

Oladapo Walker

Keyword(s):

International Committee ◽

Dominant Mode ◽

Main Body ◽

African Continent ◽

Rapid Rise ◽

Wuhan City ◽

Infected People ◽

Health Measures ◽

The World ◽

Background: An ongoing outbreak of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus was reported in Wuhan city, China. This new virus was named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the Coronavirus Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. That disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the WHO. The outbreak has since spread across the globe, including countries in Africa. Main body: The dominant mode of transmission is from the respiratory tract, via droplets or indirectly via fomites, and to a lesser extent via aerosols. The rapidity with which the infection spread throughout the world was unexpected. The disease has now affected 212 countries, areas, or territories, with more than 2.1 million total confirmed cases and over 144 thousand fatalities as at the time of writing. It, therefore, behooves countries of the world to take firm public health measures for the pandemic is to be contained. Conclusion: Nigeria, with a population of at least 170 million people, is of global interest because a rapid rise in the number of infected people will have serious implications not only for the country but for the whole African continent.%MCEPASTEBIN%

Pathologic changes in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2: a review

African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology ◽

10.4314/ajcem.v22i4.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 423-429

Author(s):

M. Babazhitsu ◽

O.O. Adegoke ◽

S.A. Abayomi ◽

B. Adegboro

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Literature Search ◽

The Body ◽

Prise En Charge ◽

Post Mortem ◽

Pathological Changes ◽

Immunomodulatory Agents ◽

Host Immune Responses ◽

Résultats Cliniques

Severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters cells using the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which are expressed by the respiratory tract endothelium, epithelial cells of the stomach, duodenum, ileum, rectum, cholangiocytes, and hepatocytes. Pathological examinations of these organs are not feasible method of diagnosis but can explain pathological changes, pathogenesis of the disease, and the cause of death in COVID-19 cases. In this review, we performed a literature search for COVID-19-related pathological changes seen during post-mortem examinations in different organs of the body including the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, skin, heart and blood. Our findings showed that SARS-CoV-2 has damaging effects on many organs, probably due to the host immune responses to the presence of the virus. It is recommended that both antiviral and immunomodulatory agents should be considered in the management of COVID-19 patients for better prognosis, and clinical outcome. French title: Changements pathologiques chez les patients infectés par le SRAS-CoV-2: une revue Le syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pénètre dans les cellules à l'aide de l'enzyme de conversion de l'angiotensine 2 (ACE2), qui est exprimée par l'endothélium des voies respiratoires, les cellules épithéliales de l'estomac, du duodénum, de l'iléon, du rectum, des cholangiocytes, et les hépatocytes. Les examens pathologiques de ces organes ne sont pas une méthode de diagnostic réalisable, mais peuvent expliquer les changements pathologiques, la pathogenèse de la maladie et la cause du décès dans les cas de COVID-19. Dans cette revue, nous avons effectué une recherche bibliographique sur les changements pathologiques liés au COVID-19 observés lors d'examens post-mortem dans différents organes du corps, notamment les poumons, le tractus gastro-intestinal, le foie, les reins, la peau, le coeur et le sang. Nos résultats ont montré que le SRAS-CoV-2 a des effets néfastes sur de nombreux organes, probablement en raison des réponses immunitaires de l'hôte à la présence du virus. Il est recommandé que les agents antiviraux et immunomodulateurs soient pris en compte dans la prise en charge des patients COVID-19 pour un meilleur pronostic et des résultats cliniques.

In silico approach for designing of a multi-epitope based vaccine against novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2)

10.1101/2020.03.31.017459 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ratnadeep Saha ◽

Burra V L S Prasad

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

In Silico ◽

Tertiary Structure ◽

Preventive Measure ◽

Docking Studies ◽

T Cell Epitopes ◽

Mhc I ◽

Host Immune Responses ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

AbstractA novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) has now become a global pandemic. Considering the severity of infection and the associated mortalities, there is an urgent need to develop an effective preventive measure against this virus. In this study, we have designed a novel vaccine construct using computational strategies. Spike (S) glycoprotein is the major antigenic component that trigger the host immune responses. Detailed investigation of S protein with various immunoinformatics tools enabled us to identify 5 MHC I and 5 MHC II B-cell derived T-cell epitopes with VaxiJen score > 1 and IC50 value < 100nM. These epitopes were joined with a suitable adjuvant and appropriate linkers to form a multi-epitope based vaccine construct. Further, in silico testing of the vaccine construct for its antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, and other physicochemical properties showed it to be safe and immunogenic. Suitable tertiary structure of the vaccine protein was generated using 3Dpro of SCRATCH suite, refined with GalaxyRefine, and validated with ProSA, PROCHECK, and ERRAT server. Finally, molecular docking studies were performed to ensure a favorable binding affinity between the vaccine construct and TLR3 receptor. The designed multi-epitope vaccine showed potential to elicit specific immune responses against the SARS-COV-2. However, further wet lab validation is necessary to confirm the actual effectiveness, safety and immunogenic potency of the vaccine construct against derived in this study.