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. 2020 Nov 19;71(16):2265-2268.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa546.

Chloroquine Inhibits the Release of Inflammatory Cytokines by Human Lung Explants

Stanislas Grassin-Delyle  1   2 , Hélène Salvator  1   3 , Marion Brollo  3 , Emilie Catherinot  1 , Edouard Sage  1   4 , Louis-Jean Couderc  1   3 , Emmanuel Naline  1   3 , Philippe Devillier  1   3
Affiliations

Chloroquine Inhibits the Release of Inflammatory Cytokines by Human Lung Explants

Stanislas Grassin-Delyle et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

On human lung parenchymal explants, chloroquine concentration clinically achievable in the lung (100 µM) inhibited the lipopolysaccharide-induced release of TNF-ɑ (by 76%), IL-6 (by 68%), CCL2 (by 72%), and CCL3 (by 67%). Besides its antiviral activity, chloroquine might also mitigate the cytokine storm associated with severe pneumonia caused by coronaviruses.

Keywords: chemokine; chloroquine; interleukin-6; lung explant; tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Concentration–response curves for chloroquine’s effect on the LPS-triggered production of TNF-α, IL-6, CCL2, and CCL3. Human lung explants from 6 to 7 patients were stimulated with LPS in the absence or presence of chloroquine (0.001–1 mM). *P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001 compared with LPS alone. Abbreviations: CCL2, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; CCL3, macrophage inflammatory protein 1α; IL-6, interleukin-6; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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