Respiratory tract viral infection caused by viruses or bacteria isone of the most common diseases in human worldwide, while those caused by emerging viruses, such as the novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV that caused the pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China most recently, have posed great threats to global public health. Identification of the causative viral pathogens of respiratory tract viral infections is important to select an appropriate treatment, save people's lives, stop the epidemics, and avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. Conventional diagnostic tests, such as the assays for rapid detection of antiviral antibodies or viral antigens, are widely used in many clinical laboratories. With the development of modern technologies, new diagnostic strategies, including multiplex nucleic acid amplification and microarray-based assays, are emerging. This review summarizes currently available and novel emerging diagnostic methods for the detection of common respiratory viruses, such as influenza virus, human respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, human adenovirus, and human rhinovirus. Multiplex assays for simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory viruses are also described. It is anticipated that such data will assist researchers and clinicians to develop appropriate diagnostic strategies for timely and effective detection of respiratory virus infections. K E Y W O R D S adenovirus, coronavirus, diagnostic methods, influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, respiratory viral infection, rhinovirus
The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, respectively, have posed severe threats to global public health and the economy. Treatment and prevention of these viral diseases call for the research and development of human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NMAbs). Scientists have screened neutralizing antibodies using the virus receptor-binding domain (RBD) as an antigen, indicating that RBD contains multiple conformational neutralizing epitopes, which are the main structural domains for inducing neutralizing antibodies and T-cell immune responses. This review summarizes the structure and function of RBD and RBD-specific NMAbs against SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 currently under development.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) with potential to cause global pandemics remains a threat to the public health, security, and economy. In this review, we focus on advances in the research and development of small-molecule MERS-CoV inhibitors targeting different stages of the MERS-CoV life cycle, aiming to prevent or treat MERS-CoV infection.
In recent years, the outbreak of infectious disease caused by Zika virus (ZIKV) has posed a major threat to global public health, calling for the development of therapeutics to treat ZIKV disease. Here, we have described the different stages of the ZIKV life cycle and summarized the latest progress in the development of small-molecule inhibitors against ZIKV infection. We have also discussed some general strategies for the discovery of small-molecule ZIKV inhibitors.
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