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Review
. 2021 Apr;51(3):657-662.
doi: 10.1007/s11239-020-02297-z. Epub 2020 Oct 15.

Coagulopathy, endothelial dysfunction, thrombotic microangiopathy and complement activation: potential role of complement system inhibition in COVID-19

Xin Wang  1 , Kamal Kant Sahu  2 , Jan Cerny  3
Affiliations
Review

Coagulopathy, endothelial dysfunction, thrombotic microangiopathy and complement activation: potential role of complement system inhibition in COVID-19

Xin Wang et al. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving health crisis caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 is a novel disease entity and we are in a learning phase with regards to the pathogenesis, disease manifestations, and therapeutics. In addition to the primary lung injury, many patients especially the ones with moderate to severe COVID-19 display evidence of endothelial damage, complement activation, which leads to a pro-coagulable state. While there are still missing links in our understanding, the interplay of endothelium, complement system activation, and immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a surprisingly major factor in COVID-19 pathogenesis. One could envision COVID-19 becoming a novel hematological syndrome. This review is to discuss the available literature with regards to the involvement of the complement system, and coagulation cascade and their interaction with endothelium.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Immunity; Pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

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