Potential Anti-Coronavirus Agents and the Pharmacologic Mechanisms

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus clade 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging pathogen, which is similar to previous SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) occurrences. However, we only get few understandings about the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, which need to further be studied. The discovery of an agent that has a treatment efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 is very urgent. In this review, we briefly discuss the virology of this pathogen and focus on the available understanding of the pathogenesis and treatments of this pathogen including the uses of nucleoside analogues, protease inhibitors, interferons, and other small-molecule drugs, on the basis previous comprehensions of SARS and MERS. These reviewed concepts may be beneficial in providing new insights and potential treatments for COVID-19.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• SARS
• MERS
• virology
• pathogenesis
• treatment

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Professor Yingmin Ma (Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases, Beijing You An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Hepatology, Beijing 100069, China) for his advices about the manuscript framework and the interpretation of the data.

Author Contributions

Yulin Zhang supervised the entire study, including the procedures, conception, design and revision. Caiping Guo and Huaying Wei were responsible for the collection of data. Yang Yang and Xiao Cui contributed the data analysis and drafted the article. Yang Yang and Xiao Cui equally contributed to the manuscript. All authors made a significant contribution to the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of manuscript; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; agreed to submit to the current journal; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81873761, 81571178, 81371399) and the 13th Key Science and Technology Five Year Plan of China (2018ZX10302104, 2018ZX10715-005-002-002).