Abstract
COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To fight this pandemic, which has caused a massive death toll around the globe, researchers are putting efforts into developing an effective vaccine against the pathogen. As genome sequencing projects for several coronavirus strains have been completed, a detailed investigation of the functions of the proteins and their 3D structures has gained increasing attention. These high throughput data are a valuable resource for accelerating the emerging field of immuno-informatics, which is primarily aimed toward the identification of potential antigenic epitopes in viral proteins that can be targeted for the development of a vaccine construct eliciting a high immune response. Bioinformatics platforms and various computational tools and databases are also essential for the identification of promising vaccine targets making the best use of genomic resources, for further experimental validation. The present review focuses on the various stages of the vaccine development process and the vaccines available for COVID-19. Additionally, recent advances in genomic platforms and publicly available bioinformatics resources in coronavirus vaccine discovery together with related immunoinformatics databases and advances in technology are discussed.
Highlights
Pandemics of crippling viral infections such as influenza, smallpox, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS), severe acute respiratory coronavirus 1 syndrome (SARS-CoV-1), Ebola, and Zika have occurred many times in human history [1]
The present review focuses on the various stages of the vaccine developmental processes and available vaccines against COVID-19
The database for potential immune epitopes of coronaviruses (COVIEdb; http:// biopharm.zju.edu.cn/coviedb/ accessed on 21 July 2021) stores details on potential B- and T-cell epitopes for SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV that are potential targets for pan-coronavirus vaccine development [29]
Summary
Pandemics of crippling viral infections such as influenza, smallpox, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS), severe acute respiratory coronavirus 1 syndrome (SARS-CoV-1), Ebola, and Zika have occurred many times in human history [1]. The scientific community worldwide is working hard to develop a strategy to fight against these infectious viral diseases In such a prevailing scenario, the design and delivery of a wide variety of innovative anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics agents are desperately needed, to tackle COVID-19 disease and to suppress a broad spectrum of previously resistant infectious virions and their mutants to save the human population from numerous life-threatening outbreaks. From concept to clinical trial in humans, the main concepts and difficulties faced in the production of vaccines targeting a diverse range of pathogens need to be elucidated and tackled. In such a context a deep knowledge of the functioning of the immune system and host-pathogen interactions must be acquired for the efficient design of a novel vaccine candidate [4]. The information and resources discussed in this review will certainly facilitate scientists in their ongoing research and development activities aimed at developing COVID-19 disease-fighting strategies
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