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Review
. 2020 Oct 1;1(3):270-301.
doi: 10.1002/mco2.26. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Coronavirus in human diseases: Mechanisms and advances in clinical treatment

Affiliations
Review

Coronavirus in human diseases: Mechanisms and advances in clinical treatment

Panpan Lin et al. MedComm (2020). .

Abstract

Coronaviruses (CoVs), a subfamily of coronavirinae, are a panel of single-stranded RNA virus. Human coronavirus (HCoV) strains (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-NL63) usually cause mild upper respiratory diseases and are believed to be harmless. However, other HCoVs, associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, and COVID-19, have been identified as important pathogens due to their potent infectivity and lethality worldwide. Moreover, currently, no effective antiviral drugs treatments are available so far. In this review, we summarize the biological characters of HCoVs, their association with human diseases, and current therapeutic options for the three severe HCoVs. We also highlight the discussion about novel treatment strategies for HCoVs infections.

Keywords: COVID‐19; MERS; SARS; clinical treatments; human coronaviruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Genome organization and structure of HCoVs
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Escape mechanisms of innate immune response of SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Mechanisms of current anti‐CoV therapeutic agents

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