Overview of Viral Pneumonia Associated With Influenza Virus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Coronavirus, and Therapeutics Based on Natural Products of Medicinal Plants.

Ziwei Hu,Zhendan He,Lixin Xia,Ying Liu,Jinhong Lin,Tengxi Cai,Xun Song,Jintao Chen

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.630834

Abstract

Viral pneumonia has been a serious threat to global health, especially now we have dramatic challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately six million cases of community-acquired pneumonia occur every year, and over 20% of which need hospital admission. Influenza virus, respiratory virus, and coronavirus are the noteworthy causative agents to be investigated based on recent clinical research. Currently, anaphylactic reaction and inflammation induced by antiviral immunity can be incriminated as causative factors for clinicopathological symptoms of viral pneumonia. In this article, we illustrate the structure and related infection mechanisms of these viruses and the current status of antiviral therapies. Owing to a set of antiviral regiments with unsatisfactory clinical effects resulting from side effects, genetic mutation, and growing incidence of resistance, much attention has been paid on medicinal plants as a natural source of antiviral agents. Previous research mainly referred to herbal medicines and plant extracts with curative effects on viral infection models of influenza virus, respiratory virus, and coronavirus. This review summarizes the results of antiviral activities of various medicinal plants and their isolated substances, exclusively focusing on natural products for the treatment of the three types of pathogens that elicit pneumonia. Furthermore, we have introduced several useful screening tools to develop antiviral lead compounds.

Highlights

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a commonly encountered lung inflammation involving the alveoli resulting from the lower respiratory tract infection that occurs in patients without recent health care exposure
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of Medicinal Plants for Viral Pneumonia children under 5 years of age die from pneumonia (WHO 2020b); CAP is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States with approximately 50,000 people dying from the disease each year (CDC 2018; CDC 2019a; Heron 2019)
New pathogens discovered in patients infected with CAP, which have so far spread from China to 216 countries through rapid and frequent international air travel causing more than 0.6 million deaths worldwide, were associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–related 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a commonly encountered lung inflammation involving the alveoli resulting from the lower respiratory tract infection that occurs in patients without recent health care exposure. New pathogens discovered in patients infected with CAP, which have so far spread from China to 216 countries through rapid and frequent international air travel causing more than 0.6 million deaths worldwide, were associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–related 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Two antiviral agents approved by the FDA are considered for optimal therapies to prevent and treat HRSV infection in children and infants with high risk. A highly contagious agent that has emerged in China, SARS-CoV-2, was incidentally discovered in the case of cluster persons with acute respiratory infection identified whose clinical features resembled those of a viral pneumonia. LPV/r is the first antiHIV-1 drug reported to be tried for clinical treatment of SARSCoV-2 infection At this time, preventive therapies for these types of novel coronaviruses are still in preclinical stages. Inhibited viral replication; affected an early stage of virus infection Interrupted virus-cell attachment Blocked viral replication

References control

Findings

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS