Peptide-Based Vaccines and Therapeutics for COVID-19

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been prevalent in the humans since 2019 and has given rise to a pandemic situation. With the discovery and ongoing use of drugs and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, there is still no surety of its complete suppression of this disease or if there is a need for additional booster doses. There is an urgent need for alternative treatment strategies against COVID-19. Peptides and peptidomimetics have several advantages as therapeutic agents because of their target selectivity, better interactions, and lower toxicity. Minor structural alterations to peptides can help prevent their fast metabolism and provide long-action. This comprehensive review provides an overview of different peptide-based vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. It discusses the design and mechanism of action of the peptide-based vaccines, peptide immunomodulators, anti-inflammatory agents, and peptides as entry inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the mechanism of action, sequences and current clinical trial studies are also summarized. The review also discusses the future aspects of peptide-based vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory peptides; Entry inhibiting peptides; Peptide immune modulators; Peptide therapies; Peptide vaccines.

Fig. 1

Mechanisms of entry inhibition by peptides. The diagram is a generalized image to show how the interaction of a peptide-based inhibitor will inhibit the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 virus with the host proteins (Furin, ACE2, CathepsinL, and TMPRSS) and thus prevent the virus entry into the host cell

Fig. 2

Structure of SARS-CoV2 spike protein