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Research Article - Journal of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2021) Volume 3, Issue 2
Combination Drug Delivery Strategies to Target Anti-Viral and Anti-Inflammatory Compounds the Lungs of COVID-19 Patients
The current COVID-19 pandemic which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) corona virus (CoV)-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected more than 50 million people and more than 1 million deaths worldwide, with over 250K deaths in the United States alone1. The major route of transit/access for the virus into the human body is via the nasal and airway route resulting in the lungs being the primary organs of destruction. The virus is known to bind to the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2) receptors that are highly expressed in the human airways and also on the surface of pulmonary immune cells especially the alveolar macrophages (AMs)2. This viral fusion with the ACE2s is known to be the primary mechanism via which the SARS-CoV-2 fuses with the host cell and is considered widely to be the first step which is followed by the viral proliferation and cytokine storm.