Disclosed herein are methods of forming compounds and exemplary compounds in the nature of a conjugated compound, which in some embodiments comprises an antigen and virus particle mixed in a conjugation reaction to form a conjugate mixture, such that the conditions and steps of forming these products allow for use of the conjugate mixture as a vaccine, including but not limited to use as a vaccine against various pathogens including for treatment of diseases caused by novel coronaviruses (including SARS-COV 2).

Lateral flow immunoassays that reliably detect human antibodies, including IgG and/or IgM antibodies, specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) are described herein. Devices, methods and kits for analysis of samples, such as liquid blood, serum or plasma, for the presence of human antibodies, such as IgG and/or IgM antibodies, specific for SARS CoV-2 proteins, such as SARS CoV-2 N and/or S proteins are provided.

The present disclosure provides polypeptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 which have therapeutic use. One such polypeptide is a polypeptide, referred to as “Npep2,” is derived from the SARS-CoV-2 protein N and has at least 50 consecutive amino acids of the amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity with the amino acid sequence that ranges from the residue at position 276 to the residue at position 411 of SEQ ID NO:2. Further described are conjugates wherein a heterologous polypeptide is conjugated or fused to Npep2. The present disclosure further provides vaccines employing the polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, and methods of vaccinating subjects against SARS-CoV-2 by administering a therapeutically effective amount of one or more of the polypeptides.

A preparation method of an interfering peptide targeting SARS-CoV-2 N protein includes the following steps: designing an interfering peptide segment targeting amino acids located in a dimerization domain of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein; fusing the interfering peptide segment with HIV-TAT; modifying the interfering peptide segment fused with HIV-TAT into a reverse isomer to obtain an amino acid sequence of a final interfering peptide NIP-V; and synthesizing the interfering peptide NIP-V using D-amino acids as raw materials. The above-mentioned interfering peptide drug NIP-V is able to interact with the dimerization domain of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein, inhibit the oligomerization of N protein, and then relieve the inhibition for innate immunity by the N protein, so as to achieve the purpose of inhibiting the replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus in cells and animals.

The disclosure provides compounds of formula II with warheads and their use in treating medical diseases or disorders, such as viral infections. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods of making various compounds with warheads are provided. The compounds are contemplated to inhibit proteases, such as the 3C, CL- or 3CL-like protease.

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The invention describes a method of generating antibodies to a mixture of SARS-CoV-2 peptidogenic proteins or polynucleotides encoding SARS-CoV-2 peptidogenic proteins wherein the SARS-CoV-2 peptidogenic protein has altered conformational dynamics as compared to a SARS-CoV-2 starting protein and wherein the SARS-CoV-2 peptidogenic protein has a similar conformation to the SARS-CoV-2 starting protein. The SARS-CoV-2 peptidogenic proteins can be used to induce an immune response, which can lead to the generation of antibodies and/or can be used to vaccinate a mammal.

A vaccine for preventing β-CoV infection includes at least one viral vector containing a β-CoV DNA sequence which codes the S protein for the β-CoV. The β-CoV RNA sequence can be a SARS-2 β-CoV DNA sequence. The vaccine may further includes a packaging plasmid based on an adenovirus. The viral vector and packaging plasmid can be contained in a packaging cell and encapsidated in a capsid. A method of vaccinating a mammal subject against infection from at least one group of β-CoV includes separating a broad group of β-CoV into homology groups based on similarities in the β-CoV RNA sequences which code for their S proteins, identifying at least one consensus sequence for each homology group which has a sequence identity of greater than 60% to all other members of the homology group, and preparing a viral vector including at least a portion of the consensus sequence from at least one homology group.

The present disclosure provides chimeric adenoviral vectors comprising a nucleic acid encoding a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protein and an adjuvant and methods for using the vectors to elicit an immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 protein in order to treat COVID-19.

Disclosed herein is a vaccine comprising a Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antigen in a combination with an immunoglobulin from post-exposure treatment. The antigen can be a consensus antigen. The consensus antigen can be a consensus spike antigen. Also disclosed herein is a method of treating a subject in need thereof, by administering the vaccine to the subject.

The present disclosure relates, generally, to compositions and methods for producing, purifying, and using circular RNA.