Coronavirus infections and immune responses

Abstract

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are by far the largest group of known positive-sense RNA viruses having an extensive range of natural hosts. In the past few decades, newly evolved Coronaviruses have posed a global threat to public health. The immune response is essential to control and eliminate CoV infections, however, maladjusted immune responses may result in immunopathology and impaired pulmonary gas exchange. Gaining a deeper understanding of the interaction between Coronaviruses and the innate immune systems of the hosts may shed light on the development and persistence of inflammation in the lungs and hopefully can reduce the risk of lung inflammation caused by CoVs. In this review, we provide an update on CoV infections and relevant diseases, particularly the host defense against CoV-induced inflammation of lung tissue, as well as the role of the innate immune system in the pathogenesis and clinical treatment.

Reducing mortality from 2019-nCoV: host-directed therapies should be an option

“…In most moribund patients, 2019-nCoV infection is also associated with a cytokine storm, which is characterised by increased plasma concentrations of interleukins 2, 7, and 10, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, interferon-γ-inducible protein 10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha, and tumour necrosis factor α. [2][3][4][5][6] In those who survive intensive care, these aberrant and excessive immune responses lead to long-term lung damage and fibrosis, causing functional disability and reduced quality of life. 7,8 Specific drugs to treat 2019-nCoV will take several years to develop and evaluate.…”

CT manifestations of coronavirus disease-2019: A retrospective analysis of 73 cases by disease severity

“…The average incubation period of the disease was found to be 6.4 days [5]. At present, the diagnosis relies on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or gene sequencing of sputum, throat swab or lower respiratory tract secretion [6]. However, these methods are timeconsuming and do not allow assessing the disease severity.…”

Coronavirus infections reported by ProMED, February 2000–January 2020

“…Coronaviruses are enveloped non-segmented positive-sense RNA viruses belonging to the family Coronaviridae (subfamily Orthocoronavirinae) and the order Nidovirales and broadly distributed in humans and other mammals [1,2], including four genuses, Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus, Deltacoronavirus, and Gammacoronavirus. Although most human coronavirus infections are mild, the previous epidemics of two betacoronaviruses, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) [3][4][5][6][7] and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) [8][9][10][11], have caused more than 10,000 cumulative cases in the past two decades, with mortality rates of 10% for SARS-CoV and 37% for MERS-CoV.…”