ABSTRACT
Today the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global health problem. After more than a year with the pandemic, although our knowledge has progressed on COVID-19, there are still many unknowns in virological, pathophysiological and immunological aspects. It is obvious that the most efficient solution to end this pandemic are safe and efficient vaccines. This manuscript summarizes the pathophysiological and thrombotic features of COVID-19 and the safety and efficacy of currently approved COVID-19 vaccines with an aim to clarify the recent concerns of thromboembolic events after COVID-19 vaccination. The influx of newer information is rapid, requiring periodic updates and objective assessment of the data on the pathogenesis of COVID-19 variants and the safety and efficacy of currently available vaccines.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Thrombosis/etiology , Ad26COVS1 , Autoantibodies/biosynthesis , BNT162 Vaccine , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/physiopathology , COVID-19 Vaccines/genetics , COVID-19 Vaccines/immunology , ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 , Clinical Trials as Topic , Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation/epidemiology , Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation/etiology , Drug Approval , Female , Genetic Vectors , Glycosaminoglycans/immunology , Humans , Male , Models, Cardiovascular , Pandemics/prevention & control , Platelet Factor 4/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity , Safety , Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/epidemiology , Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/etiology , Thrombosis/epidemiology , Thrombosis/physiopathology , Vaccines, Inactivated/adverse effects , Vaccines, Inactivated/genetics , Vaccines, Inactivated/immunology , Vaccines, Synthetic/adverse effects , Vaccines, Synthetic/genetics , Vaccines, Synthetic/immunologyABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged during the last months of 2019, spreading throughout the world as a highly transmissible infectious illness designated as COVID-19. Vaccines have now appeared, but the challenges in producing sufficient material and distributing them around the world means that effective treatments to limit infection and improve recovery are still urgently needed. This review focuses on the relevance of different glycobiological molecules that could potentially serve as or inspire therapeutic tools during SARS-CoV-2 infection. As such, we highlight the glycobiology of the SARS-CoV-2 infection process, where glycans on viral proteins and on host glycosaminoglycans have critical roles in efficient infection. We also take notice of the glycan-binding proteins involved in the infective capacity of virus and in human defense. In addition, we critically evaluate the glycobiological contribution of candidate drugs for COVID-19 therapy such as glycans for vaccines, anti-glycan antibodies, recombinant lectins, lectin inhibitors, glycosidase inhibitors, polysaccharides, and numerous glycosides, emphasizing some opportunities to repurpose FDA-approved drugs. For the next-generation drugs suggested here, biotechnological engineering of new probes to block the SARS-CoV-2 infection might be based on the essential glycobiological insight on glycosyltransferases, glycans, glycan-binding proteins, and glycosidases related to this pathology.