Complement control for COVID-19


Authors: Markus Bosmann1,2,3,4,* The complement system is an integral part of innate immune defense. It consists of about 50 proteins in plasma, on cell surfaces, and inside host cells. The traditional view is that complement proteins guard the local extracellular spaces and systemic bloodstream against invading pathogens. Loss-of-function mutations resulting in terminal complement pathway deficiencies […]

SARS-CoV-2-Specific Memory T Lymphocytes From COVID-19 Convalescent Donors: Identification, Biobanking, and Large-Scale Production for Adoptive Cell Therapy


Authors: C. Ferreras1†, B. Pascual-Miguel1†, C. Mestre-Durán1, A. Navarro-Zapata1, L. Clares-Villa1, C. Martín-Cortázar1, R. De Paz2, A. Marcos2, J. L. Vicario3, A. Balas3, F. García-Sánchez3, C. Eguizabal4,5, C. Solano6, M. Mora-Rillo7, B. Soria8,9 and A. Pérez-Martínez1,10,11* Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is causing a second outbreak significantly delaying the hope for the virus’ complete eradication. In the absence of effective vaccines, we need effective treatments with low adverse effects that can […]

COVID‐19: immunopathology, pathophysiological mechanisms, and treatment options


Authors: Larissa E van Eijk, 1 , † Mathijs Binkhorst, 2 , † Arno R Bourgonje, 3 , ‡ Annette K Offringa, 4 , ‡ Douwe J Mulder, 5 Eelke M Bos, 6 Nikola Kolundzic, 7 , 8 Amaal E Abdulle, 5 Peter HJ van der Voort, 9 Marcel GM Olde Rikkert, 10 Johannes G van der Hoeven, 11 Wilfred FA den Dunnen, 1 Jan‐Luuk Hillebrands, 1 , § and Harry van Goor 1 , § Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), continues […]

Johns Hopkins Physician — The Power of Natural Covid Immunity…


Authors: Johns Hopkins Dr. Marty Makary The news about the U.S. Covid pandemic is even better than you’ve heard. Some 80% to 85% of American adults are immune to the virus: More than 64% have received at least one vaccine dose and, of those who haven’t, roughly half have natural immunity from prior infection. There’s […]

Decoding SARS-CoV-2 hijacking of host mitochondria in COVID-19 pathogenesis


Authors: Keshav K. Singh,* Gyaneshwer Chaubey,* Jake Y. Chen, and Prashanth Suravajhala Because of the ongoing pandemic around the world, the mechanisms underlying the SARS-CoV-2-induced COVID-19 are subject to intense investigation. Based on available data for the SARS-CoV-1 virus, we suggest how CoV-2 localization of RNA transcripts in mitochondria hijacks the host cell’s mitochondrial function to viral advantage. […]

Chronic Fatigue May Be Long-Term Effect of COVID


Authors: Carolyn Crist A large number of people who contract the coronavirus don’t fully recover in a few weeks, and many of them are experiencing chronic fatigue. More than a third of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms don’t feel like they’re back to normal, even weeks later, according to a new […]

Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: The Current Evidence and Treatment Strategies


Authors: Yujun Tang,† Jiajia Liu,† Dingyi Zhang, Zhenghao Xu, Jinjun Ji,* and Chengping Wen* Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) is the pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As of 25 May 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 has caused 347,192 deaths around the world. The current evidence showed that severely ill patients tend to have a high concentration of […]

SARS-CoV-2 infection: The role of cytokines in COVID-19 disease


Authors: Víctor J Costela-Ruiz 1, Rebeca Illescas-Montes 1, Jose M Puerta-Puerta 2, Concepción Ruiz 3, Lucia Melguizo-Rodríguez 1 COVID-19 disease, caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, is related to a series of physiopathological mechanisms that mobilize a wide variety of biomolecules, mainly immunological in nature. In the most severe cases, the prognosis can be markedly worsened by the hyperproduction of mainly proinflammatory cytokines, such as […]

Cytokine storm in COVID-19: pathogenesis and overview of anti-inflammatory agents used in treatment


Authors: Mehmet Soy 1, Gökhan Keser 2, Pamir Atagündüz 3, Fehmi Tabak 4, Işık Atagündüz 5, Servet Kayhan COVID-19 infection has a heterogenous disease course; it may be asymptomatic or causes only mild symptoms in the majority of the cases, while immunologic complications such as macrophage activation syndrome also known as secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, resulting in cytokine storm syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome, may […]

TNF Biologics and COVID-19: What Autoimmune Patients Need to Know


Authors: If you’re taking a type of medication known as tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, also called anti-TNF or TNFis, you may be wondering how these drugs could impact your chances of contracting COVID-19, or having more severe complications from it. After all, the common cold or other upper respiratory tract infections can be more common […]