COVID-19: comprehensive review on mutations and current vaccines

Abstract

Viral outbreaks had been a threat for the human race for a long time. Several epidemics and pandemics have been reported in the past with serious consequences on human health and subsequent social and economic aspects. According to WHO, viral infections continue to be a major health concern globally. Novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) causes the most recent infectious pandemic disease, COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease-19). As of now, there were 249 million infections of COVID-19 worldwide with a high mortality of more than 5 million deaths reported; and the number of new additional cases is drastically increasing. Development of therapies to treat the infected cases and prophylactic agents including vaccines that are effective towards different variants are crucial to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the fact that there is a high mortality and morbidity rate along with the risk of virus causing further epidemic outbursts, development of additional effective therapeutic and preventive strategies are highly warranted. Prevention, early detection and treatment will reduce the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The present review highlights the novel mutations and therapeutic updates associated with coronaviruses along with the clinical manifestations—diagnosis, clinical management and, prophylactic and therapeutic strategies of COVID-19 infection.

SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins ORF7a and ORF3a use distinct mechanisms to downregulate MHC-I surface expression

“…This study focuses on identifying SARS-CoV-2 gene products that post-translationally downregulate MHC-I expression and the mechanisms involved. SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19, the ongoing pandemic that has afflicted the world for over two years, despite the availability of vaccines and emerging antiviral therapies (11). Thus, there remains a need to understand the molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis to aid the development of more effective, second generation anti-viral therapies.…”

Fingolimod impairs inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac)-induced antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in persons with multiple sclerosis

“…The ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has brought forward vaccination as a protective healthcare measure ( Kwok, 2021 ; Hebbani et al, 2021 ). Although patients with autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS), are recommended to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the effect of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on the efficacy of vaccination is still under scrutiny.…”

“…There is accumulating evidence of reduced humoral immunity to mRNA or viral vector-based COVID-19 vaccines among persons with MS (pwMS) under fingolimod or siponimod treatment ( Achiron et al, 2021 ; Guerrieri et al, 2021 ; Krbot Skorić et al, 2021 ). Depending on the experience from inactivated flu vaccinations ( Witman Tsur et al, 2021 ), pwMS may be recommended to receive inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, which are used in diverse geographical locations ( Kwok, 2021 ; Hebbani et al, 2021 ). Nevertheless, little known about the impact of DMTs on the efficacy of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.…”

The effect of various compounds on the COVID mechanisms, from chemical to molecular aspects

“…In the ORF1ab region, NSPs has the most nonsynonymous mutations. The viral genome also encodes all of the viral structural and functional proteins required for viral replication and infection, including spike protein (S), nucleocapsid protein (N), the envelope protein (E), and membrane protein (M) [ 9 ].…”