scholarly journals Interleukin-17A (IL-17A): the silent amplifier of COVID-19

Author(s):  
Francesco Maione ◽  
Gian Casillo ◽  
Federica Raucci ◽  
Mariarosaria Bucci

One of the hallmarks of COVID-19 is the cytokine storm that provokes primarily pneumonia followed by systemic inflammation. Emerging evidence has identified a potential link between elevated levels of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and disease severity and progression. Considering that per se IL-17A can activate several inflammatory pathways, it is plausible to hypothesize an involvement of this cytokine in COVID-19 clinical outcomes. Thus, this cytokine can represent a marker of disease progression and/or a target to develop therapeutic strategies. This hypothesis paper aims to propose this “unique” cytokine as a silent amplifier of the COVID-19 immune response and (potentially) related therapy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Bordallo ◽  
Mozart Bellas ◽  
Arthur Fernandes Cortez ◽  
Matheus Vieira ◽  
Marcelo Pinheiro

Abstract The COVID-19 outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global major concern. In this review, we addressed a theoretical model on immunopathogenesis associated with severe COVID-19, based on the current literature of SARS-CoV-2 and other epidemic pathogenic coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS. Several studies have suggested that immune dysregulation and hyperinflammatory response induced by SARS-CoV-2 are more involved in disease severity than the virus itself. Immune dysregulation due to COVID-19 is characterized by delayed and impaired interferon response, lymphocyte exhaustion and cytokine storm that ultimately lead to diffuse lung tissue damage and posterior thrombotic phenomena. Considering there is a lack of clinical evidence provided by randomized clinical trials, the knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 disease pathogenesis and immune response is a cornerstone to develop rationale-based clinical therapeutic strategies. In this narrative review, the authors aimed to describe the immunopathogenesis of severe forms of COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Debashis Sahoo ◽  
Gajanan D. Katkar ◽  
Soni Khandelwal ◽  
Mahdi Behroozikhah ◽  
Amanraj Claire ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe sought to define the host immune response, a.k.a, the “cytokine storm” that has been implicated in fatal COVID-19 using an AI-based approach. Over 45,000 transcriptomic datasets of viral pandemics were analyzed to extract a 166-gene signature using ACE2 as a ‘seed’ gene; ACE2 was rationalized because it encodes the receptor that facilitates the entry of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) into host cells. Surprisingly, this 166-gene signature was conserved in all viral pandemics, including COVID-19, and a subset of 20-genes classified disease severity, inspiring the nomenclatures ViP and severe-ViP signatures, respectively. The ViP signatures pinpointed a paradoxical phenomenon wherein lung epithelial and myeloid cells mount an IL15 cytokine storm, and epithelial and NK cell senescence and apoptosis determines severity/fatality. Precise therapeutic goals were formulated and subsequently validated in high-dose SARS-CoV-2-challenged hamsters using neutralizing antibodies that abrogate SARS-CoV-2•ACE2 engagement. IL15/IL15RA were elevated in the lungs of patients with fatal disease, and plasma levels of the cytokine tracked with disease severity. Thus, the ViP signatures provide a quantitative and qualitative framework for titrating the immune response in viral pandemics and may serve as a powerful unbiased tool to rapidly assess disease severity and vet candidate drugs.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhawana George ◽  
Sayan Mullick Chowdhury ◽  
Amber Hart ◽  
Anuvrat Sircar ◽  
Satish Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

Chronic activation of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling via Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is largely considered to be one of the primary mechanisms driving disease progression in B–Cell lymphomas. Although the BTK-targeting agent ibrutinib has shown promising clinical responses, the presence of primary or acquired resistance is common and often leads to dismal clinical outcomes. Resistance to ibrutinib therapy can be mediated through genetic mutations, up-regulation of alternative survival pathways, or other unknown factors that are not targeted by ibrutinib therapy. Understanding the key determinants, including tumor heterogeneity and rewiring of the molecular networks during disease progression and therapy, will assist exploration of alternative therapeutic strategies. Towards the goal of overcoming ibrutinib resistance, multiple alternative therapeutic agents, including second- and third-generation BTK inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs, have been discovered and tested in both pre-clinical and clinical settings. Although these agents have shown high response rates alone or in combination with ibrutinib in ibrutinib-treated relapsed/refractory(R/R) lymphoma patients, overall clinical outcomes have not been satisfactory due to drug-associated toxicities and incomplete remission. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of ibrutinib resistance development in B-cell lymphoma including complexities associated with genomic alterations, non-genetic acquired resistance, cancer stem cells, and the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, we focus our discussion on more comprehensive views of recent developments in therapeutic strategies to overcome ibrutinib resistance, including novel BTK inhibitors, clinical therapeutic agents, proteolysis-targeting chimeras and immunotherapy regimens.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27
Author(s):  
Manzoor M. Khan

Interstitial lung disease, a term for a group of disorders, causes lung fibrosis, is mostly refractory to treatments and has a high death rate. After diagnosis the survival is up to 3 years but in some cases the patients live much longer. It involves a heterogenous group of lung diseases that exhibit progressive and irreversible destruction of the lung due to the formation of scars. This results in lung malfunction, disruption of gas exchange, and eventual death because of respiratory failure. The etiology of lung fibrosis is mostly unknown with a few exceptions. The major characteristics of the disease are comprised of injury of epithelial type II cells, increased apoptosis, chronic inflammation, monocytic and lymphocytic infiltration, accumulation of myofibroblasts, and inability to repair damaged tissue properly. These events result in abnormal collagen deposition and scarring. The inflammation process is mild, and the disease is primarily fibrotic driven. Immunosuppressants do not treat the disease but the evidence is evolving that both innate and acquired immune responses a well as the cytokines contribute to at least early progression of the disease. Furthermore, mediators of inflammation including cytokines are involved throughout the process of lung fibrosis. The diverse clinical outcome of the disease is due to different pattern of inflammatory markers. Nonetheless, the development of novel therapeutic strategies requires better understanding of the role of the immune response. This review highlights the role of the immune response in interstitial lung disease and considers the therapeutic strategies based on these observations. For this review several literature data sources were used to assess the role of the immune response in interstitial lung disease and to evaluate the possible therapeutic strategies for the disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. S357
Author(s):  
Stacey Gold ◽  
Haleema Saeed ◽  
Neggin Mokhtari ◽  
Rebecca L. Chornock ◽  
Melissa Fries ◽  
...  

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Fien Demeulemeester ◽  
Karin de Punder ◽  
Marloes van Heijningen ◽  
Femke van Doesburg

Emerging data suggest that obesity is a major risk factor for the progression of major complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), cytokine storm and coagulopathy in COVID-19. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and disease severity as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the development of new therapeutic interventions and preventive measures in this high-risk group. We propose that multiple features of obesity contribute to the prevalence of severe COVID-19 and complications. First, viral entry can be facilitated by the upregulation of viral entry receptors, like angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), among others. Second, obesity-induced chronic inflammation and disruptions of insulin and leptin signaling can result in impaired viral clearance and a disproportionate or hyper-inflammatory response, which together with elevated ferritin levels can be a direct cause for ARDS and cytokine storm. Third, the negative consequences of obesity on blood coagulation can contribute to the progression of thrombus formation and hemorrhage. In this review we first summarize clinical findings on the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 disease severity and then further discuss potential mechanisms that could explain the risk for major complications in patients suffering from obesity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang-Kap Han ◽  
Yeon-Jeong Shin ◽  
Dong-Yeon Lee ◽  
Kyung Min Kim ◽  
Seo-Jin Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Gut microbiota closely communicate in the immune system to maintain a balanced immune homeostasis in the gastrointestinal tract of the host. Oral administration of probiotics modulates gut microbiota composition. In the present study, we isolated Lactobacillus rhamnosus HDB1258, which induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10 expression in macrophages, from the feces of breastfeeding infants and examined how HDB1258 could regulate the homeostatic immune response in mice with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation. Results Oral administration of HDB1258 significantly increased splenic NK cell cytotoxicity, peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis, splenic and colonic TNF-α expression, TNF-α to IL-10 expression ratio, and fecal IgA level in control mice, while Th1 and Treg cell differentiation was not affected in the spleen. However, HDB1258 treatment significantly suppressed peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis and blood prostaglandin E2 level in mice with LPS-induced systemic inflammation. Its treatment increased LPS-suppressed ratios of Treg to Th1 cell population, Foxp3 to T-bet expression, and IL-10 to TNF-α expression. Oral administration of HDB1258 significantly decreased LPS-induced colon shortening, myeloperoxidase activity and NF-κB+/CD11c+ cell population in the colon, while the ratio of IL-10 to TNF-α expression increased. Moreover, HDB1258 treatment shifted gut microbiota composition in mice with and without LPS-induced systemic inflammation: it increased the Cyanobacteria and PAC000664_g (belonging to Bacteroidetes) populations and reduced Deferribacteres and EU622763_s group (belonging to Bacteroidetes) populations. In particular, PAC001066_g and PAC001072_s populations were negatively correlated with the ratio of IL-10 to TNF-α expression in the colon, while the PAC001070_s group population was positively correlated. Conclusions Oral administered HDB1258 may enhance the immune response by activating innate immunity including to macrophage phagocytosis and NK cell cytotoxicity in the healthy host and suppress systemic inflammation in the host with inflammation by the modulation of gut microbiota and IL-10 to TNF-α expression ratio in immune cells.


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