Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

COVID-19 (CDC/Eckert & Higgins)

A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The illustration (left) shows the overall structure of the COVID-19 virus. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface, colored red, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virus. A close up view of these spikes can be seen on the right, from studies by McLellan lab^[1]. An animation (by Elara Systems) shows how COVID-19 interacts with its host, via these spikes, thus permitting its genome to enter the host (human) cell^[1].
Photo credit (to the left): Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS

Potential treatments and ways to minimize exposure to COVID-19

• A USA, French UK study identified 69 drugs to test against the coronavirus^[2]. As reported in the New York Times (23-Mar-2020) "The researchers sought drugs that also latch onto the human proteins that the coronavirus seems to need to enter and replicate in human cells."
• Fighting Coronavirus with Soap from PDB-101.

• A French study^[3] showed, despite its small sample size (20 patients treated), that hydroxychloroquine treatment is significantly associated with viral load reduction/disappearance in COVID-19 patients and its effect is reinforced by azithromycin.

Movies helping to explain COVID-19

• A movie of the 3D model of the surface of COVID-19 by Fusion Animation.

• WHO (Feb 11, 2020) Outbreak COVID-19 explained through 3D Medical Animation.

• Bill Gates Ted Talk (April 3, 2015) on We're Not Ready for the Next Epidemic.

Useful sites on COVID-19

• Computational predictions of 3D protein structures associated with COVID-19 based on the AI AlphaFold system. Coordinates of the 3D structures can be download here as a zip file.

• Up to date statistics on Coronavirus cases world-wide at worldometer

• A summary of key findings about COVID-19 can be found at CDC.
• A computer game, Folding@home, developed at the Inst for Protein Design (U Washington), uses crowdsourcing to try to find new lead compound that might become drugs to treat COVID-19.

• Crowdfight COVID-19 - A scientific crowdsourcing initiative to put all available resources at the service of the fight against COVID-19

Recent published papers

• 3D Structure of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from COVID-19, a major antiviral drug target from the Rao lab in Beijing^[4].

• Crystal structure of the Mpro from COVID-19 and discovery of inhibitors in a study by scientists from Shanghai & Beijing ^[5].

• Coronavirus Evolved Naturally, and ‘Is Not a Laboratory Construct,’ in a study in Nature Med by Anderson and colleagues ^[6].

• A study by Zhou & colleagues in Science on the structural basis for the recognition of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by full-length human ACE2 gives insights to the molecular basis for coronavirus recognition and infection^[7].

• The CoV spike (S) glycoprotein is a key target for vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and diagnostics. A study by McLellan and colleagues in "Science" on the Cryo-EM structure of the COVID-19 spike protein. This structure should greatly aid in the rapid development and evaluation of medical countermeasures to address the ongoing public health crisis^[1].

• Scientists are endeavoring to find antivirals specific to the virus. Several drugs such as chloroquine, arbidol, remdesivir, and favipiravir are currently undergoing clinical studies to test their efficacy and safety in the treatment of COVID-19 in China, with some promising results summarized.^[8].