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Holmes EC. The Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Annu Rev Virol 2024; 11:21-42. [PMID: 38631919 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-virology-093022-013037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 has evoked heated debate and strong accusations, yet seemingly little resolution. I review the scientific evidence on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and its subsequent spread through the human population. The available data clearly point to a natural zoonotic emergence within, or closely linked to, the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. There is no direct evidence linking the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 to laboratory work conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The subsequent global spread of SARS-CoV-2 was characterized by a gradual adaptation to humans, with dual increases in transmissibility and virulence until the emergence of the Omicron variant. Of note has been the frequent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to other animals, marking it as a strongly host generalist virus. Unless lessons from the origin of SARS-CoV-2 are learned, it is inevitable that more zoonotic events leading to more epidemics and pandemics will plague human populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward C Holmes
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia;
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Khan S, Partuk EO, Chiaravalli J, Kozer N, Shurrush KA, Elbaz-Alon Y, Scher N, Giraud E, Tran-Rajau J, Agou F, Barr HM, Avinoam O. High-throughput screening identifies broad-spectrum Coronavirus entry inhibitors. iScience 2024; 27:110019. [PMID: 38883823 PMCID: PMC11176637 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for antivirals against emerging coronaviruses (CoV). Inhibiting spike (S) glycoprotein-mediated viral entry is a promising strategy. To identify small molecule inhibitors that block entry downstream of receptor binding, we established a high-throughput screening (HTS) platform based on pseudoviruses. We employed a three-step process to screen nearly 200,000 small molecules. First, we identified hits that inhibit pseudoviruses bearing the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein. Counter-screening against pseudoviruses with the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G), yielded sixty-five SARS-CoV-2 S-specific inhibitors. These were further tested against pseudoviruses bearing the MERS-CoV S glycoprotein, which uses a different receptor. Out of these, five compounds, which included the known broad-spectrum inhibitor Nafamostat, were subjected to further validation and tested against pseudoviruses bearing the S glycoprotein of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants as well as bona fide SARS-CoV-2. This rigorous approach revealed an unreported inhibitor and its derivative as potential broad-spectrum antivirals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suman Khan
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Efrat Ozer Partuk
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Jeanne Chiaravalli
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 3523, Chemogenomic and Biological Screening Core Facility, C2RT, Paris, France
| | - Noga Kozer
- The Wohl Drug Discovery Institute of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Khriesto A Shurrush
- The Wohl Drug Discovery Institute of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Yael Elbaz-Alon
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Nadav Scher
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Emilie Giraud
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 3523, Chemogenomic and Biological Screening Core Facility, C2RT, Paris, France
| | - Jaouen Tran-Rajau
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 3523, Chemogenomic and Biological Screening Core Facility, C2RT, Paris, France
| | - Fabrice Agou
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 3523, Chemogenomic and Biological Screening Core Facility, C2RT, Paris, France
| | - Haim Michael Barr
- The Wohl Drug Discovery Institute of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Ori Avinoam
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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Hotez P. Anti-science conspiracies pose new threats to US biomedicine in 2023. FASEB Bioadv 2023; 5:228-232. [PMID: 37287866 PMCID: PMC10242190 DOI: 10.1096/fba.2023-00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hotez
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical MedicineBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
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Wu F. Updated analysis to reject the laboratory-engineering hypothesis of SARS-CoV-2. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 224:115481. [PMID: 36804316 PMCID: PMC9937728 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A clear understanding of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is important for future pandemic preparedness. Here, I provided an updated analysis of the type IIS endonuclease maps in genomes of alphacoronavirus, betacoronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2. Scenarios to engineer SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory and the associated workload was also discussed. The analysis clearly shows that the endonuclease fingerprint does not indicate a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2 and engineering a SARS-CoV-2 virus in the laboratory is extremely challenging both scientifically and financially. On the contrary, current scientific evidence does support the animal origin of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuqing Wu
- Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute, TX, USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F. Garry
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Zalgen Labs, LLC, Frederick, MD 21703
- Global Viral Network, Baltimore, MD 21201
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Reply to Garry: The origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unresolved. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2215826119. [PMID: 36322733 PMCID: PMC9659384 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2215826119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
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