The many faces of the anti-COVID immune response

• DOI: 10.1084/jem.20200678
• Publication Date: 2020-04-30T17:02:09Z
• Authors: Santosha A. Vardhana; Jedd D. Wolchok
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Immunology; Pneumonia, Viral; Adaptive Immunity; Betacoronavirus; 03 medical and health sciences; Lymphopenia; Immunology and Allergy; Humans; Hypoxia; Pandemics; Inflammation; Respiratory Distress Syndrome; Interleukin-6; SARS-CoV-2; Macrophages; COVID-19; Respiration, Artificial; Immunity, Innate; 3. Good health; Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus; Perspective; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections; Cytokine Release Syndrome

The novel 2019 strain of coronavirus is a source of profound morbidity and mortality worldwide. Compared with recent viral outbreaks, COVID-19 infection has a relatively high mortality rate, the reasons for which are not entirely clear. Furthermore, treatment options for COVID-19 infection are currently limited. In this Perspective, we explore the contributions of the innate and adaptive immune systems to both viral control as well as toxicity during COVID-19 infections and offer suggestions to both understand and therapeutically modulate anti-COVID immunity.