Abstract
Since December 2019, a viral pneumonia, named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), from Wuhan, China, has swept the world. Although the case fatality rate is not high, the number of people infected is large and there is still a large number of patients dying. With the collation and publication of more and more clinical data, a large number of data suggest that there are mild or severe cytokine storms in severe patients, which is an important cause of death. Therefore, treatment of the cytokine storm has become an important part of rescuing severe COVID-19 patients. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays an important role in cytokine release syndrome. If it is possible to block the signal transduction pathway of IL-6, it is expected to become a new method for the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients. Tocilizumab is an IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) blocker that can effectively block the IL-6 signal transduction pathway and thus is likely to become an effective drug for patients with severe COVID-19.
Keywords
TocilizumabCytokine stormCytokine release syndromeMedicinePneumoniaCytokineInterleukin 1 receptor antagonistInterleukin 6Viral pneumoniaReceptor antagonistCase fatality rateImmunologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Glycoprotein 130ReceptorInternal medicineDiseaseAntagonistRheumatoid arthritisInfectious disease (medical specialty)
MeSH Terms
AntibodiesMonoclonalHumanizedBetacoronavirusCOVID-19Coronavirus InfectionsCytokine Release SyndromeHumansPandemicsPneumoniaViralReceptorsInterleukin-6SARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness Index
Affiliated Institutions
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2020
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 105954-105954
- Citations
- 1801
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Chi Zhang,
Zhao Wu,
Jiawen Li
et al.
(2020).
Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID-19: interleukin-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab may be the key to reduce mortality.
International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
, 55
(5)
, 105954-105954.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105954
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105954
- PMID
- 32234467
- PMCID
- PMC7118634