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Review
. 2021 Apr 29:9:661206.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.661206. eCollection 2021.

An Overview of Asthma and COVID-19: Protective Factors Against SARS-COV-2 in Pediatric Patients

Maria Liuzzo Scorpo  1 , Giuliana Ferrante  1 , Stefania La Grutta  2
Affiliations
Review

An Overview of Asthma and COVID-19: Protective Factors Against SARS-COV-2 in Pediatric Patients

Maria Liuzzo Scorpo et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-COV-2. Aberrant innate immunity response and cytokine storm are responsible for the syndrome. Apparently, in asthmatic patients, the inadequate antiviral immune response and the tendency for asthma exacerbation evoked by common respiratory viruses could explain increased susceptibility to SARS-COV-2 infection. However, asthma has not been suggested to be a risk factor in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, in asthmatic patients some potential protective mechanisms against SARS-COV-2 have been hypothesized, like type 2 immune response, number of eosinophils, overproduction of mucus, and asthma treatment, along with behavioral factors not strictly related to asthma, such as social distancing, hygiene measures and wearing facemasks, that contribute to reduce the individual susceptibility to SARS-COV-2 infection. In this mini-review, we will describe the current literature regarding potential protective factors against COVID-19 in children with asthma based on the evidence available so far.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; asthma; children; protective factor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Impact of T2 immune response on SARS-COV-2 infection susceptibility and severity. T2 immune response inhibits SARS-COV-2 entry into the cell through ACE2R down-regulation (red arrow) and helps to clear the viral load through activation of immune response orchestrated by eosinophils (green arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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