The Fight against COVID-19: The Role of Drugs and Food Supplements

Abstract

In this way inhaled pathogens and particulate matter trapped by the airway mucus can be removed by swallowing or coughing. This process is an important self-defense mechanism of the respiratory system and its failure may lead to chronic infections and impaired lung function [4].Furthermore, the virus has to survive to the immune surveillance of the host. Natural and adaptive immunity are alerted, and will start mounting an immune response to the invasive guest. A struggle develops between the speed of virus replication and diffusion, and the inflammatory response trying to contain it. Sometimes the inflammatory response gets out of control, and a cytokine storm may happen, adding further damage to the viral infection, causing acute lung injury and leading the patient to death [5,6]. The infective processThe SARS-CoV-2 and its interactions CoVs have a complex organization (Figure 1) containing four or five structural proteins mixed with some minor components that include nonstructural and host cell-derived proteins [7]. All viral particles display on their surface Spike (S), Envelope (E) and Membrane (M) structural proteins [8] (Insert Fig 1).These surface proteins interact with host cell membranes at the beginning of infection, and the S protein is responsible for the fusion