Abstract:
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Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a contagious respiratory illness currently causing a deadly pandemic, presenting a high demand for effective treatment. Despite the virus being best known for its respiratory related symptoms, a newly published study examined the mechanisms of cardiomyocyte-specific infection by COVID-19, revealing its direct impact on cardiac functions. In this study, we applied machine learning techniques to analyze eight different COVID-19 drug treatments’ failure rates, in terms of in-hospital death or recurrence within a month of discharge, along with forty-nine biochemical variables based on early pandemic data from China. We discovered that blood pressure is one of the key effect modifiers for COVID-19 treatments. Furthermore, we examined the genes affected by the virus infection within heart cells (human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes) to explore the underlying mechanisms related to blood pressure regulation. Taken altogether, our study elucidates potential cardiac-specific antiviral drug screening platforms and COVID-19 treatment options.
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