Coronavirus Current and New Potential Therapeutic Targets: A Review

Abstract

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emergence in late 2019 marked the introduction of a highly spread viral pathogen threatening human population globally. The new virus is closely related genetically and clinically to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). There are no specific antiviral drugs approved against human coronavirus infection and all treatments are supportive. The genome of coronavirus contains several open reading frames (ORFs) that encode both non-structural proteins (nsp) and structural proteins. Most of the encoded proteins have been reported as multifunctional proteins and plays a specific role in coronavirus (CoV) replication and assembly. This review focuses on the potential vaccine and antiviral targets for coronavirus, including different proteins and genes. Understanding the current targets and discovering new possible therapeutic targets will help toward developing effective vaccines and antiviral drug against current SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and possible future outbreak.