Corticosteroids reduce pathologic interferon responses by downregulating STAT1 in patients with high-risk COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19: Corticosteroids counteract inflammation by interferon The ability of corticosteroid drugs to alleviate extreme inflammation in severe cases of COVID-19 is linked to their reduction of the gene expression that is stimulated by interferon, an immunological cytokine protein. Interferon is crucial for a healthy immune response, but when produced in excess it can play a central role in causing damaging inflammation. Hyun-Woo Jeong at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster, Germany, and colleagues in South Korea compared the activity of genes involved in the inflammatory response in blood cells from COVID-19 patients and healthy donors. The results provided insights into the role of altered gene activity in both aggravation and improvement of COVID-19. Of particular interest was the ability of corticosteroids to downregulate the activity of a gene called STAT1, involved in mediating interferon signals.