The development and application of pseudoviruses: assessment of SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses

Although most Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients can recover fully, the disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In addition to the consequences of acute infection, a proportion of the population experiences long-term adverse effects associated with SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is still critical to comprehend the virus's characteristics and how it interacts with its host to develop effective drugs and vaccines against COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, a replication-deficient recombinant glycoprotein chimeric viral particle, enables investigations of highly pathogenic viruses to be conducted without the constraint of high-level biosafety facilities, considerably advancing virology and being extensively employed in the study of SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes three methods of establishing SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and current knowledge in vaccine development, neutralizing antibody research, and antiviral drug screening, as well as recent progress in virus entry mechanism and susceptible cell screening. We also discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages.