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From Cytokine Storm to Cytokine Breeze: Did Lessons Learned from Immunopathogenesis Improve Immunomodulatory Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19?

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Rondovic, Goran 
Djordjevic, Dragan 
Udovicic, Ivo 
Stanojevic, Ivan 
Zeba, Snjezana 

Abstract

Complex immune response to infection has been highlighted, more than ever, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review explores the immunomodulatory treatment of moderate-to-severe forms of this viral sepsis in the context of specific immunopathogenesis. Our objective is to analyze in detail the existing strategies for the use of immunomodulators in COVID-19. Immunomodulating therapy is very challenging; there are still underpowered or, in other ways, insufficient studies with inconclusive or conflicting results regarding a rationale for adding a second immunomodulatory drug to dexamethasone. Bearing in mind that a "cytokine storm" is not present in the majority of COVID-19 patients, it is to be expected that the path to the adequate choice of a second immunomodulatory drug is paved with uncertainty. Anakinra, a recombinant human IL-1 receptor antagonist, is a good choice in this setting. Yet, the latest update of the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (31 May 2022) claims that there is insufficient evidence to recommend either for or against the use of anakinra for the treatment of COVID-19. EMA's human medicines committee recommended extending the indication of anakinra to include treatment of COVID-19 in adult patients only recently (17 December 2021). It is obvious that this is still a work in progress, with few ongoing clinical trials. With over 6 million deaths from COVID-19, this is the right time to speed up this process. Our conclusion is that, during the course of COVID-19, the immune response is changing from the early phase to the late phase in individual patients, so immunomodulating therapy should be guided by individual responses at different time points.

Description

Keywords

COVID-19, anakinra, critical illness, cytokines, immunologic, immunosuppression, immunotherapy, moderate-to-severe pneumonia

Journal Title

Biomedicines

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2227-9059
2227-9059

Volume Title

10

Publisher

MDPI AG