COVID‐19: Current knowledge in clinical features, immunological responses, and vaccine development

Abstract

In December 2019, a cluster of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia was identified in Wuhan, China. 1 To identify the causative agent of this disease, a large number of tests were conducted, which ruled out several etiological agents that may cause similar symptoms, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and other common respiratory pathogens. Finally, researchers identified the cause being a novel coronavirus termed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). 1 With a rapid increase in the number of infected people, on March 11th the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic 2 (Figure 1). SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 100 million individuals and has

Molecular Mechanisms Responsible for Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Treatment of Viral Diseases

“…The SARS-CoV-2-induced infection of pneumocytes and ciliated cells of the airways usually results in alveolar injury and lung inflammation [3]. In the majority of COVID-19 patients, alveolar macrophages, lung-infiltrated DCs and T cells efficiently eliminate the virus and prevent disease progression [3].…”

“…The SARS-CoV-2-induced infection of pneumocytes and ciliated cells of the airways usually results in alveolar injury and lung inflammation [3]. In the majority of COVID-19 patients, alveolar macrophages, lung-infiltrated DCs and T cells efficiently eliminate the virus and prevent disease progression [3]. However, severe cytokine storm might develop in some patients due to the massive production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by SARS-CoV-2-over-activated immune cells [31].…”

“…The epidemic outbreaks caused by viruses represents a critical threat to public health, particularly when preventive vaccines and effective antiviral therapies are not available [1,2]. Since December 2019, humankind has been confronted with a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has infected more than 110 million people worldwide [2,3]. The pandemic of COVID-19 prompted the scientific world to define new approaches for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases, including the development of new vaccines and antiviral drugs [2].…”

“…The pandemic of COVID-19 prompted the scientific world to define new approaches for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases, including the development of new vaccines and antiviral drugs [2]. Despite the fact that vaccination is crucially important for the cessation of pandemic outbreaks, the confirmation of safety and efficacy of newly developed vaccines usually need long-term investigation [3]. Accordingly, antiviral drugs are usually used in clinical practice as the first line of defense against life-threatening viral diseases [4].…”

Convalescent Plasma for the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Analysis

“…The magnitude and urgency of this public health emergency has prompted global scientific collaborations to seek rapid solutions via repurposing of previously approved broad-spectrum antivirals (remdesivir, ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, interferon) [13,14] and therapeutic doses of corticosteroids (dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone) [15,16] for high-risk patients while fast-tracking development of vaccines and other novel therapeutics [17]. To that end, great advances in understanding the biology of this new coronavirus and the natural history of the disease have been achieved [18,19]. Moreover, the unprecedented development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines capable of eliciting immunological protection, in less than a year from identification of the causative agent, has been a remarkable success and remains the best hope for ending this pandemic [20].…”