Epigenetic Regulation of Autophagy in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Publisher



Behrouj H¹ ; Vakili O² ; Sadeghdoust A³ ; Aligolighasemabadi N⁴ ; Khalili P⁵ ; Zamani M⁵ ; Mokarram P^{5, 6} Show Affiliations
Source: Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports Published:2022

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become the most serious global public health issue in the past two years, requiring effective therapeutic strategies. This viral infection is a contagious disease caused by new coronaviruses (nCoVs), also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Autophagy, as a highly conserved catabolic recycling process, plays a significant role in the growth and replication of coronaviruses (CoVs). Therefore, there is great interest in understanding the mechanisms that underlie autophagy modulation. The modulation of autophagy is a very complex and multifactorial process, which includes different epigenetic alterations, such as histone modifications and DNA methylation. These mechanisms are also known to be involved in SARS-CoV-2 replication. Thus, molecular understanding of the epigenetic pathways linked with autophagy and COVID-19, could provide novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19 eradication. In this context, the current review highlights the role of epigenetic regulation of autophagy in controlling COVID-19, focusing on the potential therapeutic implications. © 2022 The Authors