BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF SARS-CoV-2 AND CURRENT APPROACHES TO ANTIVIRAL THERAPY AND VACCINATION: A REVIEW

Snjezana Zidovec Lepej; Petra Korac; Dijana Skoric; Margarita Batovic; Paula Grskovic; Valerija Begic; Suzana Harabajsa; Leona Radmanic; Petra Simicic

doi:10.33602/mebm.3.2.1

Snjezana Zidovec Lepej Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, Zagreb, Croatia
Petra Korac Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Dijana Skoric Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Microbiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Margarita Batovic Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, Zagreb, Croatia
Paula Grskovic Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Valerija Begic Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; Primary School “Sesvetski Kraljevec”, Sesvetski Kraljevec, Croatia
Suzana Harabajsa Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Pathology and Cytology, Division of Pulmonary Cytology Jordanovac, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Leona Radmanic Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, Zagreb, Croatia
Petra Simicic Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, Zagreb, Croatia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33602/mebm.3.2.1

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, genome, origin, antiviral therapy, vaccination

Abstract

Since the first description of patients with pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan in December 2019, unprecedented efforts of the international scientific community led to the identification and molecular characterization of its etiological agent, e.g. SARS-CoV-2. The global pandemic of COVID-19 represents an outstanding challenge for the scientists and medical professionals worldwide. In this review, we discuss the most important aspects of SARS-CoV-2 biology and virology including antiviral and immunomodulatory treatment strategies as well as vaccine development.