Damage Response Framework of COVID-19

: Numerous infectious diseases caused by microorganisms that rarely cause disease in natural, stable immunocompetent hosts emerged in the late 20th century. The existence of these diseases demonstrates that current principles of pathogenicity and virulence fail to account for the fact that microbial pathogenesis is influenced by both the microorganism and the host. To overcome this impediment to studies on the host and microorganism interactions, a new theoretical approach is addressed to understand microbial pathogenesis known as DRF. COVID-19 is introduced as the third most pathogenic strain in the human population, leading to the deaths of millions of people. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the key pathogenic pathways at the molecular level and identify the targets to develop the treatments strategies for COVID-19 infected populations. In this chapter, we have highlighted the different COVID-19 pathogenesis pathways along with targets and their role in the pathogenic conditions at molecular levels. The DRF provides a lens to understand COVID-19 pathogenesis and consider how potential therapies could alter the disease's outcome by focusing on mechanisms of host damage, especially immune-mediated damage.