 The Coronaviridae family clusters consists of a number of large RNA viruses, which share several structural and functional features. However, members of this family recognize different cellular receptors and exploit different entry routes, which affects their species specificity and virulence. COVID-19 specifically infects the upper respiratory tracts of humans, and infects cells via endocytosis, not by injecting genetic material into the cells like many other viruses. It is not as infectious as the flu, but appears to be deadlier with a currently calculated mortality rate of 3.4% while for the flu it is less than 1%. There have been previous outbreaks of different coronavirus strains in the past and laboratory techniques develop previously can be effective with COVID-19.
An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2003 is thought to have spread from bats to civet cats before the first human patient was infected. And Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, another type of coronavirus, which was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, most likely passed from bats into dromedary camels before spilling over into humans.
Public health officials suspect that the current outbreak may have originated at a live-animal market in Wuhan, where dozens of workers were infected at the outset. The market has been shut down, but tests on samples from the area have been inconclusive.
COVID-19 had been successfully grown in tissue culture dishes for initial experimental work. There will be requirements for the production of this virus at larger scale, and more precise in vitro models. Previous strains of coronavirus have been successfully cultured in hollow fiber bioreactor systems using either Vero E6 cells, or HELA cells. A new approach is the development of the human epithelial airway model, which precisely mimics the lung environment that most coronaviruses require for proper replication and infection.
Laboratory cell culture, and hollow fiber bioreactors could be used in the following areas for infectious disease research
- Serology. Analyzing antigen-antibody reactions based on the antibodies found in patients' blood serum, and developing an effective serology test to screen for the infection among the population.
- Development of specific treatments. Testing known antiviral molecules that act on the replication cycle of some viruses to assess their therapeutic or even prophylactic potential, and looking for antibodies that may have therapeutic applications.
- Vaccination. Based on the virus, developing vaccine approaches that have already been explored for other viruses - Ebola, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, with the aim of proposing a vaccine candidate.
- Viral pathogenesis. Understanding how the virus works, how it replicates and interacts with the cell and the host organism, to gain a clearer picture of its pathogenic nature and identify biomarkers for infection or new targets for the development of treatments.
References:
Antiviral Pharmacodynamics in Hollow Fiber Bioreactors.
2011 International Medical Press 1359-6535
Production of high-titer human influenza A virus with adherent and suspension MDCK cells cultured in a single-use hollow fiber bioreactor
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.11.044
Novel Uses for Hollow Fiber Bioreactors Modular and Scalable Manufacturing Platform Has Application in Influenza Virus Production Published Online: 1 Sep 2011
https://doi.org/10.1089/gen.31.12.16
High density Huh7.5 cell hollow fber bioreactor culture for high yield production of hepatitis C virus and studies of antivirals.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-35010-5.pdf
(2018) 8:17505 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-35010-5
Hollow Fiber Unit Evaluation of a New Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protease Inhibitor, BMS-232632, for Determination of the Linked Pharmacodynamic Variable.
The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2001;183:1126-9
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