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COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition
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COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2025) | Viewed by 9037

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mariarosaria Boccellino

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Guest Editor
Department Life Sciences, Health and Health Professions, Link University, 00165 Rome, Italy
Interests: cerebral hypoxia; prostate cancer; malignant teratoma of the mediastinum; aminoaciduria; antioxidant activity; obesity; molecular biology; translational medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, “COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines”. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly pathogenic and transmissible virus. The amount of knowledge gathered so far on the subject is impressive. It is now clear that adequately strong immunity is the best weapon against COVID-19. The various SARS-CoV-2 variants have contributed to the extent of infection and spread of the virus, and may play a role in the immune response either acquired or induced by vaccination. In addition, host genetics and gene expression regulation have been shown to be key in the response to the infection.

Various antiviral drugs and immune-modulating methods have been evaluated. So far, no particular therapeutic option has not been approved among the variety of treatments that have been studied for COVID-19, including oxygen therapy, corticosteroids, antiviral agents, targeted therapy, and vaccines, all of which have diverse effects and outcomes in each patient. According to the findings of in vitro and in vivo studies, some novel approaches, such as gene editing, cell-based therapy, and immunotherapy, may have significant potential in the treatment of COVID-19.

We welcome submissions of cutting-edge primary research, reviews, and commentaries, with a focus on different strategies for treatment and prevention against COVID-19.

Dr. Mariarosaria Boccellino
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • vaccines
  • virus

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4092 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2-Specific IgY Antibodies: Production, Reactivity, and Neutralizing Capability against Virus Variants
by Jacob Schön, Andrea Aebischer, Nico Joël Halwe, Lorenz Ulrich, Donata Hoffmann, Sven Reiche, Martin Beer and Christian Grund
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(14), 7976; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25147976 - 21 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2053
Abstract
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 initiated a global pandemic, which led to a need for effective therapeutics and diagnostic tools, including virus-specific antibodies. Here, we investigate different antigen preparations to produce SARS-CoV-2-specific and virus-neutralizing antibodies in chickens (n = 3/antigen) and [...] Read more.
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 initiated a global pandemic, which led to a need for effective therapeutics and diagnostic tools, including virus-specific antibodies. Here, we investigate different antigen preparations to produce SARS-CoV-2-specific and virus-neutralizing antibodies in chickens (n = 3/antigen) and rabbits (n = 2/antigen), exploring, in particular, egg yolk for large-scale production of immunoglobulin Y (IgY). Reactivity profiles of IgY preparations from chicken sera and yolk and rabbit sera were tested in parallel. We compared three types of antigens based on ancestral SARS-CoV-2: an inactivated whole-virus preparation, an S1 spike-protein subunit (S1 antigen) and a receptor-binding domain (RBD antigen, amino acids 319–519) coated on lumazine synthase (LS) particles using SpyCather/SpyTag technology. The RBD antigen proved to be the most efficient immunogen, and the resulting chicken IgY antibodies derived from serum or yolk, displayed strong reactivity with ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence and broad neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron BA.1 and BA.5. Preliminary in vivo studies using RBD–lumazine synthase yolk preparations in a hamster model showed that local application was well tolerated and not harmful. However, despite the in vitro neutralizing capacity, this antibody preparation did not show protective effect. Further studies on galenic properties seem to be necessary. The RBD–lumazine antigen proved to be suitable for producing SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies that can be applied to such therapeutic approaches and as reference reagents for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, including virus neutralization assays. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 3603 KiB  
Article
Effect of Immunosuppression on the Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination
by Emma J. Leacy, Jia Wei Teh, Aoife M. O’Rourke, Gareth Brady, Siobhan Gargan, Niall Conlon, Jennifer Scott, Jean Dunne, Thomas Phelan, Matthew D. Griffin, Julie Power, Aoife Mooney, Aifric Naughton, Rachel Kiersey, Mary Gardiner, Caroline O’Brien, Ronan Mullan, Rachael Flood, Michael Clarkson, Liam Townsend, Michelle O’Shaughnessy, Adam H. Dyer, Barry Moran, Jean M. Fletcher, Lina Zgaga and Mark A. Littleadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5239; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105239 - 11 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2321
Abstract
Immunosuppressive treatment in patients with rheumatic diseases can maintain disease remission but also increase risk of infection. Their response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination is frequently blunted. In this study we evaluated the effect of immunosuppression exposure on humoral [...] Read more.
Immunosuppressive treatment in patients with rheumatic diseases can maintain disease remission but also increase risk of infection. Their response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination is frequently blunted. In this study we evaluated the effect of immunosuppression exposure on humoral and T cell immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in two distinct cohorts of patients; one during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and 3 months later during convalescence, and another prior to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, with follow up sampling 6 weeks after vaccination. Results were compared between rituximab-exposed (in previous 6 months), immunosuppression-exposed (in previous 3 months), and non-immunosuppressed groups. The immune cell phenotype was defined by flow cytometry and ELISA. Antigen specific T cell responses were estimated using a whole blood stimulation interferon-γ release assay. A focused post-vaccine assessment of rituximab-treated patients using high dimensional spectral cytometry was conducted. Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection was characterised by T cell lymphopenia, and a reduction in NK cells and naïve CD4 and CD8 cells, without any significant differences between immunosuppressed and non-immunosuppressed patient groups. Conversely, activated CD4 and CD8 cell counts increased in non-immunosuppressed patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection but this response was blunted in the presence of immunosuppression. In rituximab-treated patients, antigen-specific T cell responses were preserved in SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, but patients were unable to mount an appropriate humoral response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition)
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Review

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27 pages, 689 KiB  
Review
Vitamin D: A Nutraceutical Supplement at the Crossroad Between Respiratory Infections and COVID-19
by Manuela Rizzi and Pier Paolo Sainaghi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(6), 2550; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062550 - 12 Mar 2025
Viewed by 885
Abstract
Even though in mid-2023 the World Health Organization declared the end of the public health emergency of international concern status for COVID-19, many areas of uncertainty about SARS-CoV-2 infection pathophysiology remain. Although in the last 4 years pharmaceutical industries widely invested in the [...] Read more.
Even though in mid-2023 the World Health Organization declared the end of the public health emergency of international concern status for COVID-19, many areas of uncertainty about SARS-CoV-2 infection pathophysiology remain. Although in the last 4 years pharmaceutical industries widely invested in the development of effective antiviral treatments and vaccines, large disparities in their availability worldwide still exist, thus fostering the investigation of nutritional supplements as adjuvant therapeutic approaches for disease management, especially in resource-limited settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vitamin D has been widely used as an over-the-counter solution to improve disease evolution, thanks to its known immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory actions. Ecological and observational studies support a relationship between hypovitaminosis D and COVID-19 negative outcomes and, according to this evidence, several research groups investigated the role of vitamin D supplementation in protecting from SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or improving disease evolution. This narrative review is intended to offer insights into the existing data on vitamin D’s biological effects in respiratory infections, especially in COVID-19. Furthermore, it will also offer a brief overview of the complex interplay between vitamin D and vaccine-elicited immune response, with special attention to anti-COVID-19 vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition)
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42 pages, 2137 KiB  
Review
An Update on SARS-CoV-2 Clinical Trial Results—What We Can Learn for the Next Pandemic
by Benediktus Yohan Arman, Juliane Brun, Michelle L. Hill, Nicole Zitzmann and Annette von Delft
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(1), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010354 - 26 Dec 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2896
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed over 7 million lives worldwide, providing a stark reminder of the importance of pandemic preparedness. Due to the lack of approved antiviral drugs effective against coronaviruses at the start of the pandemic, the world largely [...] Read more.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed over 7 million lives worldwide, providing a stark reminder of the importance of pandemic preparedness. Due to the lack of approved antiviral drugs effective against coronaviruses at the start of the pandemic, the world largely relied on repurposed efforts. Here, we summarise results from randomised controlled trials to date, as well as selected in vitro data of directly acting antivirals, host-targeting antivirals, and immunomodulatory drugs. Overall, repurposing efforts evaluating directly acting antivirals targeting other viral families were largely unsuccessful, whereas several immunomodulatory drugs led to clinical improvement in hospitalised patients with severe disease. In addition, accelerated drug discovery efforts during the pandemic progressed to multiple novel directly acting antivirals with clinical efficacy, including small molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. We argue that large-scale investment is required to prepare for future pandemics; both to develop an arsenal of broad-spectrum antivirals beyond coronaviruses and build worldwide clinical trial networks that can be rapidly utilised. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 Pandemic: Therapeutic Strategies and Vaccines: 2nd Edition)
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