Cytokine profiles in COVID-19 patients

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are highly variable across individuals and can range from asymptomatic infection to critical illness. At the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 15% of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals developed severe disease, which can progress to severe pneumonia that requires oxygen support. SARS-CoV-2-associated ssRNA and dsRNA transcription intermediates formed during viral replication are sensed by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) within endosomes, including Toll-like receptors (TLRs), and by cytoplasmic RNA sensors, which promote the synthesis of IFNs. Dysregulation of the immune response, which results in the suppression of the IFN-I response and overproduction of inflammatory cytokines, is observed mostly in severe and critical forms of COVID-19. The overall goal of the study was the assessment of the host’s cytokine/protein expression during the COVID-19. The analyzes of the cytokine/chemokine expression in patients with moderate/severe and mild COVID-19 were performed using high throughput screening immunoassays.