Circulating biomarkers and their implications in COVID-19 pathogenesis

Abstract

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The coronavirus infection emerged in China in 2019 and quickly disseminated globally in a short time. According to WHO about 100 million people were infected in 2021, rising to 500 million in 2022. In most cases, the trajectory of COVID-19 concludes with a positive result. However, the likelihood of experiencing a serious form of the disease is quite high. A severe form of coronavirus infection causes a storm of reactions in the body. The increased release of cytokines into the blood in response to viral infection is called cytokine release syndrome and causes acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ failure. Timely control of cytokine storm with drugs such as immunomodulators and cytokine antagonists, as well as reduction of lung inflammatory cell infiltration is the main way to improve treatment effectiveness and decrease the mortality rate in individuals suffering from COVID-19.