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The best coronavirus/SARS-CoV-2 biology lecture I have seen so far, by Britt Glaunsinger @UCBerkeley @berkeleyMCB @HHMINEWS @igisci. Covers where it comes from, how it gets into the cell, replicates in the host, and exploits the immune system against you.
An exonuclease (ExoN) is encoded in coronaviruses to enable their super large (30 kb) genomes. ExoN protects CoVs from inhibition by nucleoside analogs (e.g. Remdesivir @GileadSciences), suggesting a combo treatment w/ Remdesivir and an ExoN inhibitor could be effective
CoVs form these insane looking replication-transcription complexes in the host cell that are protected by double membrane vesicles. This shields the replicating virus from antiviral that could damage it and concentrates its transcriptional machinery so it can grow faster
SARS-1 delays host IFN-1 signaling so it can replicate to high viral titers. A delayed interferon response unleashes an improper innate immunity reaction that is a leading cause of acute lung injury/ARDS (this is how it kills you)
Finally, neutralizing antibody titer drops rapidly in SARS-recovered patients, suggesting that immunity (e.g. government-issued immunity certificates) may have an expiration date. We will have to track if this is similar for SARS-CoV-2 patients.
