Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-5880, USA.
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
Glycomics and Glycan Bioengineering Research Center (GGBRC), College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 20095, China.
Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL, 33458, USA.
Viral Immunology Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
SARS-CoV-2 Patient Survivor, Chicago, IL, 60204, USA.
Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, and State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Interventional Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2, is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus with epithelial cell and respiratory system proclivity. Like its predecessor, SARS-CoV, COVID-19 can lead to life-threatening disease. Due to wide geographic impact affecting an extremely high proportion of the world population it was defined by the World Health Organization as a global public health pandemic. The infection is known to readily spread from person-to-person. This occurs through liquid droplets by cough, sneeze, hand-to-mouth-to-eye contact and through contaminated hard surfaces. Close human proximity accelerates SARS-CoV-2 spread. COVID-19 is a systemic disease that can move beyond the lungs by blood-based dissemination to affect multiple organs. These organs include the kidney, liver, muscles, nervous system, and spleen. The primary cause of SARS-CoV-2 mortality is acute respiratory distress syndrome initiated by epithelial infection and alveolar macrophage activation in the lungs. The early cell-based portal for viral entry is through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor. Viral origins are zoonotic with genomic linkages to the bat coronaviruses but without an identifiable intermediate animal reservoir. There are currently few therapeutic options, and while many are being tested, although none are effective in curtailing the death rates. There is no available vaccine yet. Intense global efforts have targeted research into a better understanding of the epidemiology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and pathobiology of SARS-CoV-2. These fields of study will provide the insights directed to curtailing this disease outbreak with intense international impact.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
京公网安备 11010802027423号