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Review
. 2023 Sep 26;13(10):1452.
doi: 10.3390/biom13101452.

Insights into COVID-19: Perspectives on Drug Remedies and Host Cell Responses

Ahmed M Awad  1 , Kamryn Hansen  1 , Diana Del Rio  1 , Derek Flores  1 , Reham F Barghash  2 , Laura Kakkola  3 , Ilkka Julkunen  3   4 , Kareem Awad  3   5
Affiliations
Review

Insights into COVID-19: Perspectives on Drug Remedies and Host Cell Responses

Ahmed M Awad et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, ongoing research has centered on minimizing viral spread either by stopping viral entry or inhibiting viral replication. Repurposing antiviral drugs, typically nucleoside analogs, has proven successful at inhibiting virus replication. This review summarizes current information regarding coronavirus classification and characterization and presents the broad clinical consequences of SARS-CoV-2 activation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor expressed in different human cell types. It provides publicly available knowledge on the chemical nature of proposed therapeutics and their target biomolecules to assist in the identification of potentially new drugs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: ACE2; COVID-19; coronavirus; drug design; nucleoside analogs; target cell responses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of SARS-CoV-2 and its structural proteins.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different human cell types due to ACE2 receptor expression. The ACE2 receptor is expressed in most cell types of the body, including neural cells, alveolar epithelial cells, immune cells, vascular endothelial cells, intestinal cells, hepatocytes, tubular cells, and podocytes. IL, interleukin; INF, interferon; TGFβ, transforming growth factor beta; AST, aspartate transaminase; ALT, alanine transaminase.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of available drugs that have been investigated for the treatment of COVID-19.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of available drugs that have been investigated for the treatment of COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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