Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jun;80(6):607-613.
doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.037. Epub 2020 Apr 10.

The pathogenesis and treatment of the `Cytokine Storm' in COVID-19

Qing Ye  1 , Bili Wang  1 , Jianhua Mao  2
Affiliations
Review

The pathogenesis and treatment of the `Cytokine Storm' in COVID-19

Qing Ye et al. J Infect. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Cytokine storm is an excessive immune response to external stimuli. The pathogenesis of the cytokine storm is complex. The disease progresses rapidly, and the mortality is high. Certain evidence shows that, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, the severe deterioration of some patients has been closely related to the cytokine storm in their bodies. This article reviews the occurrence mechanism and treatment strategies of the COVID-19 virus-induced inflammatory storm in attempt to provide valuable medication guidance for clinical treatment.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; Coronavirus; Cytokine storm; Immunomodulation; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mechanism of cytokine storm in COVID-19 and potential therapy. ① Supplement with IFN-λ to activate the innate immunity; ② Using immunomodulator to restore immune balance; ③ Inhibiting the production of cytokines; ④ Scavenging cytokines; ⑤ Inhibiting mononuclear macrophage recruitment and function; ⑥ Strengthening the vascular barrier by activating of the endothelial Slit-Robo4 signal pathway.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Lai C.-C., Shih T.-P., Ko W.-C., Tang H.-J., Hsueh P.-R. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020 2020/02/17/ - PMC - PubMed
    1. Special Expert Group for Control of the Epidemic of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association An update on the epidemiological characteristics of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) Chin J Epidemiol. 2020:41. - PubMed
    1. Chousterman B.G., Swirski F.K., Weber G.F. Cytokine storm and sepsis disease pathogenesis. Seminars Immunopathol. 2017;39(5):517–528. 2017/07/01. - PubMed
    1. Shimabukuro-Vornhagen A., Gödel P., Subklewe M., Stemmler H.J., Schlößer H.A., Schlaak M. Cytokine release syndrome. J ImmunoTherapy Cancer. 2018;6(1):56. 2018/06/15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wan S., Yi Q., Fan S., Lv J., Zhang X., Guo L., et al. Characteristics of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines in peripheral blood of 123 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). 2020:medRxiv2020.02.10.20021832.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances