Abstract
The recent emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) in late 2019 and its spread worldwide caused an acute
pandemic of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). COVID-19 pathologies are
currently under intense scrutiny as its outbreak led to immense and
urgent changes worldwide. Although many theories have been introduced on
how SARS-CoV-2 enters the host, the ACE-2 receptor is shown to be the
primary mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 entry. However, the mechanism behind the
establishment and pathology of infection is poorly understood. As recent
studies show that host mitochondria play an essential role in
virus-mediated innate immune response, in this review, we will discuss,
in detail, the entry and progression of SARS-CoV-2 and how mitochondria
play a role in the establishment of viral infection and the development
of an immune response, whether it is beneficial or not. We will also
review the possible treatments that could be used to prevent the
surgency of COVID-19 infection with respect to the role of mitochondria.
Understanding the mitochondria-mediated SARS-CoV-2 establishment may
provide a unique mechanism and conceptual advancement in finding a novel
treatment for COVID-19.