No abstract

CD147, a transmembrane glycoprotein, is expressed on all leukocytes, platelets, and endothelial cells. It has been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological activities through interacting with multiple partners, including cyclophilins, monocarboxylate transporters, Caveolin-1, and integrins. While CD147 is best known as a potent inducer of extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (hence also called EMMPRIN), it can also function as a key mediator of inflammatory and immune responses. Increased expression of CD147 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, such as asthma-mediated lung inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Therapeutic targeting of CD147 has yielded encouraging effects in a number of experimental models of human diseases, suggesting CD147 as an attractive target for treatment of inflammation-related diseases. Here we review the current understanding of CD147 expression and functions in inflammatory and immune responses and potential implications for treatment of inflammatory disorders.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), outbreak from Wuhan City, Hubei province, China in 2019 has become an ongoing global health emergency. The emerging virus, SARS-CoV-2, causes coughing, fever, muscle ache, and shortness of breath or dyspnea in symptomatic patients. The pathogenic particles that are generated by coughing and sneezing remain suspended in the air or attach to a surface to facilitate transmission in an aerosol form. This review focuses on the recent trends in pandemic biology, diagnostics methods, prevention tools, and policies for COVID-19 management. To meet the growing demand for medical supplies during the COVID-19 era, a variety of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators have been developed using do-it-yourself (DIY) manufacturing. COVID-19 diagnosis and the prediction of virus transmission are analyzed by machine learning algorithms, simulations, and digital monitoring. Until the discovery of a clinically approved vaccine for COVID-19, pandemics remain a public concern. Therefore, technological developments, biomedical research, and policy development are needed to decipher the coronavirus mechanism and epidemiological characteristics, prevent transmission, and develop therapeutic drugs.