Cytokines and COVID-19: friends or foes?

Mohsen Rokni, Michael R. Hamblin, Nima Rezaei

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The cytokine storm following sepsis has been proven to be an important mechanism for triggering acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is a fatal uncontrolled systemic inflammation characterized by high concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, secreted by immune effector cells. The cytokine storm also occurs in the recently emerged novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Therefore, cytokines which usually help the immune system to fight infections are potentially harmful in the course of COVID-19 infections. Therefore, avoiding or mitigating the cytokine storm may be a key treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2363-2365
Number of pages3
JournalHuman Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
Volume16
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Oct 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Cytokine storm
  • chemokines
  • pro-inflammatory cytokines
  • severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology
  • Pharmacology

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