Naru Zhang

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), affects multiple organ systems, with the respiratory system being the primary target. Respiratory organoids, which closely mimic the structure and function of the human respiratory tract, have emerged as essential tools for studying SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review summarizes current methods for generating various respiratory organoids, including nasal, tonsil, airway, bronchial, and alveolar organoids, and highlights their application in investigating the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection and evaluating potential therapeutic agents. Meanwhile, this review also introduces respiratory organoid-on-a-chip technology, which can precisely regulate culture conditions and incorporate vascularization and immune cells to enhance physiological complexity, thereby providing crucial support for investigating SARS-CoV-2-induced lung injury, immune responses, and conducting high-throughput drug screening. The aim of this review is to provide valuable insights for further research into the pathogenesis and intervention strategies of COVID-19.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus prevalent in more than 110 countries and regions, including Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It can cause acute fever, rash, and severe joint pain, and some patients may develop chronic arthritis, which significantly impairs quality of life. CHIKV infection can occasionally be fatal, with neurologic disease a particularly severe manifestation. Following its resurgence in 2005, CHIKV has emerged as a major threat to global public health. This review summarizes diagnostic techniques, advances in vaccine development, and the latest drug interventions for CHIKV. We also present an overview of the epidemiology, structure, and invasion mechanisms of epidemic hotspots in 2024–2025 and propose evidence-based strategies for effective prevention and control of CHIKV infection.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus prevalent in more than 110 countries and regions, including Africa, Asia, America and Europe. It can cause acute fever, rash and severe joint pain, and some patients may develop chronic arthritis, which significantly impairs the quality of life. Following its resurgence in 2005, CHIKV has emerged as a major threat to global public health. This review summarizes the diagnostic techniques, advances in vaccine development, and the newest drug interventions for CHIKV. We also present an overview of the epidemiology, structure and invasion mechanism of the 2024-2025 epidemic hotspots and propose evidence-based strategies leading to the effective prevention and control of CHIKV.

The integrated stress response, especially stress granules (SGs), contributes to host immunity. Typical G3BP1⁺ stress granules (tSGs) are usually formed after virus infection to restrain viral replication and stimulate innate immunity. Recently, several SG-like foci or atypical SGs (aSGs) with proviral function have been found during viral infection. We have shown that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein induces atypical N⁺/G3BP1⁺ foci (N⁺foci), leading to the inhibition of host immunity and facilitation of viral infection. However, the precise mechanism has not been well clarified yet. In this study, we showed that the SARS-CoV-2 N (SARS2-N) protein inhibits dsRNA-induced growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 34 (GADD34) expression. Mechanistically, the SARS2-N protein promotes the interaction between GADD34 mRNA and G3BP1, sequestering GADD34 mRNA into the N⁺foci. Importantly, we found that GADD34 participates in IRF3 nuclear translocation through its KVRF motif and promotes the transcription of downstream interferon genes. The suppression of GADD34 expression by the SARS2-N protein impairs the nuclear localization of IRF3 and compromises the host’s innate immune response, which facilitates viral replication. Taking these findings together, our study revealed a novel mechanism by which the SARS2-N protein antagonized the GADD34-mediated innate immune pathway via induction of N⁺foci. We think this is a critical strategy for viral pathogenesis and has potential therapeutic implications.

Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (PDNVs) are small nanoscale vesicles containing lipids, RNAs, proteins and some plant natural products secreted by plant cells. Over the last decade, PDNVs have garnered significant interest due to its exceptional therapeutic benefits in the treatment of various diseases. Herbal medicine, as a medicinal plant, plays an important role in the treatment of diseases including cancer. Especially in recent years, the function of herbal medicine derived exosome-like nanovesicles (HMDNVs) in the treatment of cancer has been widely concerned, and has become a research hotspot of nanomedicine. In this review, the biological characteristics, functions and the therapeutic advantages of PDNVs are reviewed, as well as the recent achievements and research progress of HMDNVs in cancer treatment, demonstrating its enormous promise as a cancer therapy, and new insights are provided for future research and development of anti-tumor drugs.

Corrigendum: Advancement in the development of therapeutics against Zika virus infection

Zika virus (ZIKV), a re-emerging arbovirus, causes teratogenic effects on the fetus and normal nerve functions, resulting in harmful autoimmune responses, which call for the development of therapeutics against ZIKV infection. In this review, we introduce the pathogenesis of ZIKV infection and summarize the advancement in the development of therapeutics against ZIKV infection. It provides guidance for the development of effective therapeutics against ZIKV infection.

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become more serious because of the continuous emergence of variants of concern (VOC), thus calling for the development of broad-spectrum vaccines with greater efficacy. Adjuvants play important roles in enhancing the immunogenicity of protein-based subunit vaccines. In this study, we compared the effect of three adjuvants, including aluminum, nanoparticle manganese and MF59, on the immunogenicity of three protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including RBD-Fc, RBD and S-trimer. We found that the nanoparticle manganese adjuvant elicited the highest titers of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a, as well as neutralizing antibodies against infection by pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta variant. What is more, the nanoparticle manganese adjuvant effectively reduced the viral load of the authentic SARS-CoV-2 and Delta variant in the cell culture supernatants. These results suggest that nanoparticle manganese, known to facilitate cGAS-STING activation, is an optimal adjuvant for protein-based COVID-19 subunit vaccines.

Several countries have made unremitting efforts to develop an optimal vaccine in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With the increasing occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, current vaccines show decreased neutralizing activities, especially towards the Omicron variant. In this context, adding appropriate adjuvants to COVID-19 vaccines can substantially reduce the number of required doses and improve efficacy or cross-neutralizing protection. We mainly focus on research progress and achievements associated with adjuvanted COVID-19 subunit and inactivated vaccines. We further compare the advantages and disadvantages of different adjuvant formulations in order to provide a scientific reference for designing an effective strategy for future vaccine development.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus first discovered in the Americas. ZIKV infection is insidious based on its mild clinical symptoms observed after infection. In Brazil, after 2015, ZIKV infection broke out on a large scale, and many infected pregnant women gave birth to babies with microcephaly. The teratogenic effects of the virus on the fetus and its effects on nerves and the immune system have attracted great attention. Currently, no specific prophylactics or therapeutics are clinically available to treat ZIKV infection. Development of a safe and effective vaccine is essential to prevent the rise of any potential pandemic. In this review, we summarize the latest research on Zika vaccine development based on different strategies, including DNA vaccines, subunit vaccines, live-attenuated vaccines, virus-vector-based vaccines, inactivated vaccines, virus-like particles (VLPs), mRNA-based vaccines, and others. We anticipate that this review will facilitate further progress toward the development of effective and safe vaccines against ZIKV infection.