• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권8호
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• pp.1109-1115
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• 2020

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading globally, and the WHO has declared this outbreak a pandemic. Vaccines are an effective way to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection needs to be understood for the development of an efficient and safe vaccine. Here, we review the current understanding of vaccine targets and the status of vaccine development for COVID-19. We also describe host immune responses to highly pathogenic human coronaviruses in terms of innate and adaptive immunities.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.199-207
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• 2023

Post-COVID-19 시대에 다가올 전염병의 위협에 대비하기 위해 인간, 동물, 환경의 건강이 하나라는 One-health 개념에 기반한 연구가 필수적이다. 현재 인간의 SARS-CoV-2의 높은 감염률과 바이러스 부하로 인해 종을 뛰어넘는 감염이 확인되고 있다. 대표적으로 사람에서 밍크로의 전파 가능성이 확인되었고, 밀접 접촉 중에 사람에서 고양이로 전파가 가능할 것으로 추정되고 있다. 현재까지의 자료를 통해 가축류, 가금류에서의 감염 가능성이 낮은 것으로 보여지나 새로운 변이로 인해 감염이 확립된다면 인간의 식량 안보, 경제, 무역 등 다양한 분야에 파급 효과가 클 것으로 예측된다. 또한 SARS-CoV-2의 풍토화 전망과 반려동물로의 접근성이 높다는 점 등이 우려되는 상황이다. 바이러스의 진화는 동물 숙주에서 발생할 가능성이 높고, 다른 종에서 SARS-CoV-2가 확립되면 인간 집단에 바이러스가 다시 출현할 수 있는 중간 숙주 역할을 할 수도 있기 때문이다. SARS-CoV-2의 동물 감염에 대한 연구 데이터를 지속적으로 축적하여 빠른 대응이 필요하다고 생각된다. 또한 동물 감염에 대한 연구는 SARS-CoV-2 백신 및 치료제 연구에 사용되는 동물 모델의 개발 등을 포함한 다방면에서 중요하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 SARS-CoV-2의 동물 감염에 대해 역학 검토 및 대응 전략을 One-health 관점에서 접근하여 분석하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권6호
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• pp.2421-2427
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• 2024

In this research, the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was simulated and exposed to electron radiation with up to 20 keV energy. Absorbed energy was measured for spike protein, nucleocapsid protein, and envelope of the virus. Simulations were performed by Geant4-DNA in a water environment at temperature of 20 ℃ and pressure of 1 atm. Since the viral RNA is kept inside the nucleocapsid protein, damage to this area could destroy the viral RNA strand and create an inactive virus. Our findings showed that electron beams with an energy of 2.5 keV could cause a maximum absorption dose and consequently maximum damage to the nucleocapsid and effectively be used for inactivation virus.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.481-491
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• 2024

Paxlovid is the first approved oral treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 and includes nirmatrelvir, a protease inhibitor targeting the main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2, as one of the key components. While some specific mutations emerged in M^pro were revealed to significantly reduce viral susceptibility to nirmatrelvir in vitro, there is no report regarding resistance to nirmatrelvir in patients and animal models for SARS-CoV-2 infection yet. We recently developed xenograft tumors derived from Calu-3 cells in immunodeficient mice and demonstrated extended replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the tumors. In this study, we investigated the effect of nirmatrelvir administration on SARS-CoV-2 replication. Treatment with nirmatrelvir after virus infection significantly reduced the replication of the parental SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron at 5 days post-infection (dpi). However, the virus titers were completely recovered at the time points of 15 and 30 dpi. The virus genomes in the tumors at 30 dpi were analyzed to investigate whether nirmatrelvir-resistant mutant viruses had emerged during the extended replication of SARS-CoV-2. Various mutations in several genes including ORF1ab, ORF3a, ORF7a, ORF7b, ORF8, and N occurred in the SARS-CoV-2 genome; however, no mutations were induced in the M^pro sequence by a single round of nirmatrelvir treatment, and none were observed even after two rounds of treatment. The parental SARS-CoV-2 and its sublineage isolates showed similar IC₅₀ values of nirmatrelvir in Vero E6 cells. Therefore, it is probable that inducing viral resistance to nirmatrelvir in vivo is challenging differently from in vitro passage.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.1.1-1.16
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• 2021

The emergence of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has become a significant health concern worldwide. Undoubtedly, a better understanding of the innate and adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and its relationship with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis will be the sole basis for developing and applying therapeutics. This review will summarize the published results that relate to innate immune responses against infections with human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 in both humans and animal models. The topics encompass the innate immune sensing of the virus to the dysregulation of various innate immune cells during infection and disease progression.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.12.1-12.17
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• 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population in late 2019, it has spread on an unprecedented scale worldwide leading to the first coronavirus pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 infection results in a wide range of clinical manifestations from asymptomatic to fatal cases. Although intensive research has been undertaken to increase understanding of the complex biology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the detailed mechanisms underpinning the severe pathogenesis and interactions between the virus and the host immune response are not well understood. Thus, the development of appropriate animal models that recapitulate human clinical manifestations and immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 is crucial. Although many animal models are currently available for the study of SARS-CoV-2 infection, each has distinct advantages and disadvantages, and some models show variable results between and within species. Thus, we aim to discuss the different animal models, including mice, hamsters, ferrets, and non-human primates, employed for SARS-CoV-2 infection studies and outline their individual strengths and limitations for use in studies aimed at increasing understanding of coronavirus pathogenesis. Moreover, a significant advantage of these animal models is that they can be tailored, providing unique options specific to the scientific goals of each researcher.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.313-324
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• 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which causes serious respiratory illness such as pneumonia and lung failure, was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China. The etiological agent of COVID-19 has been confirmed as a novel coronavirus, now known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is most likely originated from zoonotic coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV, which emerged in 2002. Within a few months of the first report, SARS-CoV-2 had spread across China and worldwide, reaching a pandemic level. As COVID-19 has triggered enormous human casualties and serious economic loss posing global threat, an understanding of the ongoing situation and the development of strategies to contain the virus's spread are urgently needed. Currently, various diagnostic kits to test for COVID-19 are available and several repurposing therapeutics for COVID-19 have shown to be clinically effective. In addition, global institutions and companies have begun to develop vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19. Here, we review the current status of epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development for COVID-19.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.32.1-32.14
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• 2021

Over two hundred twenty-eight million cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the world have been reported until the 21^st of September 2021 after the first rise in December 2019. The virus caused the disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Over 4 million deaths blame COVID-19 during the last one year and 8 months in the world. Currently, four SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are mainly focused by pandemic studies with limited experiments to translate the infectivity and pathogenicity of each variant. The SARS-CoV-2 α, β, γ, and δ variant of concern was originated from United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil/Japan, and India, respectively. The classification of SARS-CoV-2 variant is based on the mutation in spike (S) gene on the envelop of SARS-CoV-2. This review describes four SARS-CoV-2 α, β, γ, and δ variants of concern including SARS-CoV-2 ε, ζ, η, ι, κ, and B.1.617.3 variants of interest and alert. Recently, SARS-CoV-2 δ variant prevails over different countries that have 3 unique mutation sites: E156del/R158G in the N-terminal domain and T478K in a crucial receptor binding domain. A particular mutation in the functional domain of the S gene is probably associated with the infectivity and pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 variant.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.143-155
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• 2023

Purpose: An association between Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination has been reported. We aimed to summarize the clinical features of GBS associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and determine the contrasting features from coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) associated GBS and GBS following other causes. Materials and Methods: We performed PubMed search for articles published between 1 December 2020 and 27 January 2022 using search terms related to "SARS-CoV-2 vaccination" and "GBS". Reference searching of the eligible studies was performed. Sociodemographic and vaccination data, clinical and laboratory features, and outcomes were extracted. We compared these findings with post-COVID-19 GBS and International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS) (GBS from other causes) cohorts. Results: We included 100 patients in the analysis. Mean age was 56.88 years, and 53% were males. Six-eight received non-replicating virus vector and 30 took messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. The median interval between the vaccination and the GBS onset was 11 days. Limb weakness, facial palsy, sensory symptoms, dysautonomia, and respiratory insufficiency were seen in 78.65%, 53.3%, 77.4%, 23.5%, and 25%, respectively. The commonest clinical and electrodiagnostic subtype were sensory-motor variant (68%) and acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (61.4%), respectively. And 43.9% had poor outcome (GBS outcome score ≥3). Pain was common with virus vector than mRNA vaccine, and the latter had severe disease at presentation (Hughes grade ≥3). Sensory phenomenon and facial weakness were common in vaccination cohort than post-COVID-19 and IGOS. Conclusion: There are distinct differences between GBS associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and GBS due to other causes. Facial weakness and sensory symptoms were commonly seen in the former and outcomes poor.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.28.1-28.25
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• 2020

The recent emergence of the novel coronavirus (CoV) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a global threat to human health and economy. As of June 26, 2020, over 9.4 million cases of infection, including 482,730 deaths, had been confirmed across 216 countries. To combat a devastating virus pandemic, numerous studies on vaccine development are urgently being accelerated. In this review article, we take a brief look at the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoVs and discuss recent approaches to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development.