The Importance of Autophagy Mechanism as a Novel Therapeutic Target in SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused global pandemic and major public health issue, called the disease as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). It spreads rapidly from an infected person via respiratory droplets by breathing, sneezing, coughing. The symptoms of COVID-19 are dry cough, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, pneumonia. The epidemiological and pathological features of SARS-CoV-2 are still unclear and requires further investigation. In previous studies, coronaviruses have been shown to use the endocytic pathway and autophagy mechanism to enter and replicate into the host cells. In this mini-review, we will focus on the role of autophagy mechanism in SARS-CoV-2 infection and therapeutic potential of this pathway.

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