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High mortality has been reported in severe cases of COVID-19. Emerging reports suggested that the severity is not only due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but also due to coinfections by other pathogens exhibiting symptoms like COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, simultaneous respiratory coinfections with various viral (Retroviridae, Flaviviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, and Picoviridae) and bacterial (Mycobacteriaceae, Mycoplasmataceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Helicobacteraceae) families have been observed. These pathogens intensify disease severity by potentially augmenting SARSCoV-2 replication, inflammation, and modulation of signaling pathways. Coinfection emerges as a critical determinant of COVID-19 severity, principally instigated by heightened pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, as cytokine storm. Thereby, in co-infection scenario, the severity is also driven by the modulation of inflammatory signaling pathways by both pathogens possibly associated with interleukin, interferon, and cell death exacerbating the severity. In the current review, we attempt to understand the role of co- infections by other pathogens and their involvement in the severity of COVID-19., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

SARS-CoV-2 Envelope protein (E) is one of the crucial components in virus assembly and pathogenesis. The current study investigated its role in the SARS-CoV-2-mediated cell death and inflammation in lung and gastrointestinal epithelium and its effect on the gastrointestinal-lung axis. We observed that transfection of E protein increases the lysosomal pH and induces inflammation in the cell. The study utilizing Ethidium bromide/Acridine orange and Hoechst/Propidium iodide staining demonstrated necrotic cell death in E protein transfected cells. Our study revealed the role of the necroptotic marker RIPK1 in cell death. Additionally, inhibition of RIPK1 by its specific inhibitor Nec-1s exhibits recovery from cell death and inflammation manifested by reduced phosphorylation of NFκB. The E-transfected cells' conditioned media induced inflammation with differential expression of inflammatory markers compared to direct transfection in the gastrointestinal-lung axis. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 E mediates inflammation and necroptosis through RIPK1, and the E-expressing cells' secretion can modulate the gastrointestinal-lung axis. Based on the data of the present study, we believe that during severe COVID-19, necroptosis is an alternate mechanism of cell death besides ferroptosis, especially when the disease is not associated with drastic increase in serum ferritin., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Within a short period, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spread all over the globe and became the first pandemic of the present century. Early diagnostic tools and effective drugs are urgently needed to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on current literature, we provide recent updates on SARS-CoV-2 biology, available diagnostic methods, and therapeutic options for the management of COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: A literature survey was done using Google and PubMed and Web of Science to summarize the current updates on this topic., Results: Current coronavirus diagnostic tests are reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) which detects the presence of specific genome sequence of virus. Existing antiviral drugs or new therapeutic options such as neutralizing antibody or plasma therapy are mostly used to restrict the virus growth with a limited success., Conclusion: As there is no specific treatment or vaccine available to limit the infection of SARS-CoV-2, we need to rely on the existing way to limit the disease. The first priority to fight COVID-19 is development of early diagnostic tools so that infected persons can be identified and further viral transmission can be blocked. Evaluation of existing drugs or identification of new therapeutic entities becomes the major challenge to deal with the present pandemic., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)