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Simple Summary: Coronaviruses are serious pathogens for both humans and animals. The name corona was designated because of the crown-like spikes on their surface. Currently, seven coronaviruses have been identified, such as 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. Sometimes, animal coronaviruses infect humans and evolve due to genetic mutations, interspecies transmission, host adaptations, and favorable conditions. The main objective of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity and predict the emergence of new variants with novel properties. It has been reported that the spike protein gene plays an important role in host cell attachment and entry into host cells. The S gene has the highest mutation/deletion and is the most utilized target for vaccine/antiviral development. In this work, we discussed the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship, and recombination patterns of selected HCoVs with an emphasis on the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV. The findings of this study showed that MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have significant sequence identities with the selected HCoVs. The phylogenetic and recombination results concluded that new variants may emerge in the future with novel properties that infect both humans and animals. This information will be helpful for global society to design and develop an effective vaccine and disease management strategy. Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are seriously associated with respiratory diseases in humans and animals. The first human pathogenic SARS-CoV emerged in 2002–2003. The second was MERS-CoV, reported from Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 2012, and the third one was SARS-CoV-2, identified from Wuhan City, China, in late December 2019. The HCoV-Spike (S) gene has the highest mutation/insertion/deletion rate and has been the most utilized target for vaccine/antiviral development. In this manuscript, we discuss the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and recombination patterns of selected HCoVs with emphasis on the S protein gene of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 to elucidate the possible emergence of new variants/strains of coronavirus in the near future. The findings showed that MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have significant sequence identity with the selected HCoVs. The phylogenetic tree analysis formed a separate cluster for each HCoV. The recombination pattern analysis showed that the HCoV-NL63-Japan was a probable recombinant. The HCoV-NL63-USA was identified as a major parent while the HCoV-NL63-Netherland was identified as a minor parent. The recombination breakpoints start in the viral genome at the 142 nucleotide position and end at the 1082 nucleotide position with a 99% CI and Bonferroni-corrected p-value of 0.05. The findings of this study provide insightful information about HCoV-S gene diversity, recombination, and evolutionary patterns. Based on these data, it can be concluded that the possible emergence of new strains/variants of HCoV is imminent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A glomus tumor (GT) is a rare and usually benign tumor that originates from the glomus body, which is involved in thermoregulation in the skin. Solitary or multiple, digital or extra-digital, these cutaneous tumors can be benign or malignant. This report describes the diagnosis and surgical management of a solitary glomus tumor at the base of the right thumb in a young Sudanese woman. The diagnosis of glomus tumor was confirmed by medical history, sonographic findings and histopathological report. The lesion was excised via direct complete excision under local anesthesia, resulting in a complete resolution of symptoms. Owing to its high sensitivity level, the use of ultrasound is appropriate to evaluate a lesion suspected to be a glomus tumor. A clinician needs to take into consideration the likelihood of glomus tumors when assessing a patient who has a skin lesion on fingers, toes, or extra-digital area, with pain triggered by temperature changes, pressure, or touch. Additionally, this report includes a review of recent globally reported cases of glomus tumor in the hand to highlight the distinctiveness of this report in context to its atypical location in the area of the thenar eminence and underscoring it as a unique report of its kind from Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven coronaviruses (CoVs) have been isolated from humans so far. Among them, three emerging pathogenic CoVs, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and a newly identified CoV (2019-nCoV), once caused or continue to cause severe infections in humans, posing significant threats to global public health. SARS-CoV infection in humans (with about 10% case fatality rate) was first reported from China in 2002, while MERS-CoV infection in humans (with about 34.4% case fatality rate) was first reported from Saudi Arabia in June 2012. 2019-nCoV was first reported from China in December 2019, and is currently infecting more than 70000 people (with about 2.7% case fatality rate). Both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are zoonotic viruses, using bats as their natural reservoirs, and then transmitting through intermediate hosts, leading to human infections. Nevertheless, the intermediate host for 2019-nCoV is still under investigation and the vaccines against this new CoV have not been available. Although a variety of vaccines have been developed against infections of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, none of them has been approved for use in humans. In this review, we have described the structure and function of key proteins of emerging human CoVs, overviewed the current vaccine types to be developed against SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and summarized recent advances in subunit vaccines against these two pathogenic human CoVs. These subunit vaccines are introduced on the basis of full-length spike (S) protein, receptor-binding domain (RBD), non-RBD S protein fragments, and non-S structural proteins, and the potential factors affecting these subunit vaccines are also illustrated. Overall, this review will be helpful for rapid design and development of vaccines against the new 2019-nCoV and any future CoVs with pandemic potential. This review was written for the topic of Antivirals for Emerging Viruses: Vaccines and Therapeutics in the Virology section of Frontiers in Microbiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats act as a natural reservoir for many viruses, including coronaviruses, and have played a crucial epidemiological role in the emergence of many viral diseases. Coronaviruses have been known for 60 years. They are usually responsible for the induction of mild respiratory signs in humans. However, since 2002, the bat-borne virus started to induce fatal epidemics according to WHO reports. In this year, the first serious human coronavirus epidemic (severe acute respiratory syndrome; SARS) occurred (China, 8098 cases, 774 deaths [9.5% of the cases] in 17 countries). The case fatality was higher in elderly patients above 60 years and reached 50% of the cases. SARS epidemic was followed 10 years later by the emergence of the middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia (in 2012, 2260 cases, 803 deaths [35.5% of the cases] in 27 countries). Finally, in December 2019, a new epidemic in Wuhan, China, (corona virus disease 2019, COVID-19) emerged and could spread to 217 countries infecting more than 86,255,226 cases and killing 1,863,973 people by the end of 2020. There are many reasons why bats are ideal reservoir hosts for viral diseases such as the tolerance of their immune system to the invading viruses for several months. They can actively shed the viruses, although they develop no clinical signs (will be discussed in details later in the review). Bats were directly or indirectly involved in the three previous coronavirus epidemics. The indirect transmission takes place via intermediate hosts including civet cats for SARS and dromedary camels in the case of MERS. Although bats are believed to be the source of COVID-19 pandemic, direct pieces of evidence are still lacking. Therefore, coronaviruses' role in epidemics induction and the epidemiological role of bats are discussed. The current work also presents different evidence (phylogenetic data, animal experiments, bats artificial infection studies, and computerized models of SARS-CoV2 evolution) that underline the involvement of bats in the epidemiology of the pandemic.

Background The newly emerged Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that first appeared in Saudi Arabia during the summer of 2012 has to date (20th September 2013) caused 58 human deaths. MERS-CoV utilizes the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) host cell receptor, and analysis of the long-term interaction between virus and receptor provides key information on the evolutionary events that lead to the viral emergence. Findings We show that bat DPP4 genes have been subject to significant adaptive evolution, suggestive of a long-term arms-race between bats and MERS related CoVs. In particular, we identify three positively selected residues in DPP4 that directly interact with the viral surface glycoprotein. Conclusions Our study suggests that the evolutionary lineage leading to MERS-CoV may have circulated in bats for a substantial time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]