Targeting Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in SARS-CoV-2 Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a significant threat to global well-being and safety. Controlling it and reducing the rate of death as soon as possible is a pressing job for the healthcare sector. The possible therapeutic agents used in COVID-19 are from the past encounters in combating SARS, MERS, and other viruses. Assuming that broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have long been accepted on the market to treat various infectious diseases, their metabolic features, dosage, possible efficacy, and side effects are yet to be studied for the current scenario. Repurposing of clinically approved drugs may be a salient shortterm approach for the treatment of novel coronavirus. But the downside is that these therapies are too “broad spectrum” to target COVID-19 directly. Therefore, its side effects cannot be underrated. A number of clinical trials are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of other treatment options. Active symptomatic support is still the key to treatment. Although stem cells, monoclonal antibodies, polypeptides, interferon, and plasma from recovered patients have been shown to be effective in treating COVID-19 patients, their safeties are still being evaluated, and the efficacy remains to be further confirmed. This chapter illuminates the structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and helps to investigate certain proteins and gain new insights into the drugs used for COVID- 19. The features of future therapy must be multicomponent, multitarget, and multi-pathway for disease, care and it has tremendous potential for COVID-19 therapy. Because the pandemic is rapidly emerging, such observations will lead to better understanding for making effective therapeutics to curb COVID-19.