Comparative Analysis of Emerging Viruses to Inform Development of Safe and Effective Vaccines for COVID-19

Abstract

Viruses have evolved by surviving in hosts over millions of years. The human immune system has also co-evolved to counter the escape mechanisms of viruses. Each virus has a unique and specific mechanism of causing disease. SARS-COV2 has emerged as a newly mutated virus that has resulted in a world-wide pandemic. Understanding immunobiology of viruses provides information on developing diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. We have reviewed and summarized the pathogenesis of four viruses that have emerged as causative agents for endemics in the past decade. Dengue, Chikungunya, Nipah and Zika viruses i) are transmitted by different intermediate animal hosts, ii) infect cells through different receptors, iii) induce a diverse range of symptoms, iv) which are treated with specific and symptomatic therapies, and v) various proteins expressed by the viruses used as antigens for diagnosis and development of vaccines. The nature of the immune response to these viruses involves innate, cell mediated and humoral immunity, and several proteins of these viruses have been implicated in protective versus pathogenic responses. We have summarized and provided recent references for the current understanding of SARS-COV2 virus and immunological immune responses, and listed similarities and difference in characteristics to these four viruses. This systematic analysis of these viruses will enable the understanding the requirements and anticipate challenges in development of novel diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines for COVID-19 pandemic.