Autoimmunity Contributes to the Severe Progression of COVID-19
Autoimmunity Contributes to the Severe Progression of COVID-19
Although elderliness and chronic comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases, are known risk factors for severe progression of COVID-19, it still remains puzzling on why younger patients without any comorbidity advance to severity and even more rapidly, the underlying mechanisms for severe progression of COVID-19 still needs to be elucidated. Based on current picturing of the COVID-19, similar to SARS, besides direct viral toxicity, immune-mediated attack derived from either the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine perpetual cascade, or secondary pathogen-induced autoimmunity response may also play important roles on disease progression and partly account for the multi-system injuries related with COVID-19. Virus infection has been implicated in the initiation of autoimmunity, which can attack multiple systems. With the knowledge of characteristics of SARS, high level of autoimmune activity was shown to make severe injuries to lungs or other organs, leading to poor outcome including multi-system failure9. COVID-19 may also get autoimmunity involved which is of obviously younger and female population predominance during the pathogenesis, no matter pre-existing or secondary to viral infection. Particularly strong immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection might not be protective, but perhaps, be harmful to the host, contributing to disease severe progression.
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