PEDV: Insights and Advances into Types, Function, Structure, and Receptor Recognition.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has been endemic in most parts of the world since its emergence in the 1970s. It infects the small intestine and intestinal villous cells, spreads rapidly, and causes infectious intestinal disease characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration, leading to high mortality in newborn piglets and causing massive economic losses to the pig industry. The entry of PEDV into cells is mediated by the binding of its spike protein (S protein) to a host cell receptor. Here, we review the structure of PEDV, its strains, and the structure and function of the S protein shared by coronaviruses, and summarize the progress of research on possible host cell receptors since the discovery of PEDV.

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and RNA dependent RNA polymerase as targets for drug and vaccine development: A review.

The present pandemic has posed a crisis to the economy of the world and the health sector. Therefore, the race to expand research to understand some good molecular targets for vaccine and therapeutic development for SARS-CoV-2 is inevitable. The newly discovered coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a positive sense, single-stranded RNA, and enveloped virus, assigned to the beta CoV genus. The virus (SARS-CoV-2) is more infectious than the previously detected coronaviruses (MERS and SARS). Findings from many studies have revealed that S protein and RdRp are good targets for drug repositioning, novel therapeutic development (antibodies and small molecule drugs), and vaccine discovery. Therapeutics such as chloroquine, convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibodies, spike binding peptides, and small molecules could alter the ability of S protein to bind to the ACE-2 receptor, and drugs such as remdesivir (targeting SARS-CoV-2 RdRp), favipir, and emetine could prevent SASR-CoV-2 RNA synthesis. The novel vaccines such as mRNA1273 (Moderna), 3LNP-mRNAs (Pfizer/BioNTech), and ChAdOx1-S (University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca) targeting S protein have proven to be effective in combating the present pandemic. Further exploration of the potential of S protein and RdRp is crucial in fighting the present pandemic.